


Cherished Memories

by LinkCat



Series: A Single Flower [3]
Category: Finding Nemo (2003), Trolls (2016)
Genre: Best Friends, Child Death, Crossover, Disney Multiverse, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Memory Loss, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-12-27 01:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 33,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18294494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinkCat/pseuds/LinkCat
Summary: Memories are something everyone should treasure, but what happens when you can’t remember what you had for breakfast?This is a crossover of Finding Nemo were Marlin, Nemo, and Dory all come in as trolls.Chapter 1 summary:Smidge causes Branch to be very angry.





	1. All Hail King Smidge

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 3 of "A Single Flower." Please read part 1 and 2. It will make more sense! Sorry for any mistakes I make. I hope you enjoy!

It had been five years since Jadice gave birth to Melody, Symphony, and Rhythm. In that time frame, several of the couples had welcome babies into the world. Smidge had a dwarf baby over four years earlier with Jadice. He was yellow green trolling with light green hair. His name was Destiny. Poppy had a baby with Jadice two years earlier. He was a pink trolling with light pink hair. His name was Rose. Biggie gave birth to a baby blue glitter trolling with light green hair three years earlier. His name was Horizon. DJ Suki had had a raspberry colored trolling with curly blue green hair a year earlier. His name was Bongo. Stream, Sky, and Paprika had gotten married two years earlier. Stream had had a baby boy that was maroon skin and two toned pink and capri blue hair six months earlier. His name was Cherry.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What the hell?!” Branch was walking out of the medical pod. She had just found out she was pregnant for the fourth time. She had been on contraceptives since she had the twins. With eleven children to take care of, she had decided with Guy Diamond and Creek, that they were not going to have anymore kids. She thought she was sick and had just went to get medicine so that she didn’t spread the virus. She had a bad feeling someone had messed with the contraceptives. She got into the bunker, walked over to her hidden spot in the bunker, and pulled out the pills. She sniffed it and flushed. “Oh, for fucks sakes! These are god damn sugar pills!!! Smidge!!!” She slammed the bottle down and got up. She headed for the living space. “Creek! Guy! I think I know what’s going on with us three! Smidge probably came in here and swiped the contraceptives again. That fucking bastard!”

“Branch, the kids…” Sky got up and covered little Cherry’s ears. He certainly didn’t want their little baby picking up on bad words. It was too late for the older little ones.

Creek frowned and walked into the living space. “How did he find them?!” He thought they had found the perfect hiding spot for those pills. He looked concerned. He didn’t want all three of them pregnant at the same time. It made taking care of each other difficult.

Guy Diamond was in the bathroom. He had heard them but was too busy getting sick in the toilet.

Victory walked up to Branch and looked up at her with wide eyes. “Why are you so mad mama?” The nearly nine-year-old trolling was still short for his age and ran around with only shorts on unless it was too cold outside. He loved showing off his chest scar. He told others that it was proof that he was big and strong.

Branch sighed and knelt to hug Victory. “Smidge made mama mad, because he did something that he knows makes mama mad. It’s going to be alright.”

“Guy and I better get checked. Looks like you might need to go have a talk with Smidge.” Creek went to the bathroom to check on Guy Diamond.

Once Guy Diamond’s stomach was empty, he flushed the toilet and washed his hands. He groaned and walked with Creek towards the medical pod.

“Stay home and keep company with uncle Sky.” Branch followed her mates. She wanted to know if they were pregnant or not.

Victory walked over to Sky and sat down by little Cherry. He gave him a toy block and smiled when Peridot walked over with a book. “What are you reading now bro?”

“Marvels Of The Wanderer.” Peridot sat down by them and flipped through the pages. He began to read it to Cherry. He was several years advanced in reading. He was a very smart boy.

“Do you understand the whole thing?” Sky was surprised he chose an adult book. He was a little worried about one scene that he would be reading soon.

“Yes…” Peridot looked up at him and grinned. “What is a fetish?”

“Give me that.” Sky grabbed that book and sighed. He tucked it into his hair and went to go get a more age appropriate book.

Peridot shrugged and pulled another book out of his hair. He opened it and began to read it. His parents often grabbed books that were not age appropriate out of his hands. He was used to it.

Back at the medical pod, Creek and Guy Diamond just found out they were also pregnant.

“I’m going to go talk to them.” Branch sighed and headed for the door. “He’s the king, I can’t kill him but grr!!!”

“Be gentle Branch. He’s pregnant too.” Gold watched her storm off.

Creek watched his wife storm away. “He’s a brat, but I love him.”

“He loves Branch’s kids. He wants to see more.” Guy Diamond chuckled. “And he is trying to do Peppy proud by following the rules.”

Branch got to the royal flower pod and knocked on the door. She gently wrapped her hair around Smidge when he answered the door. “Hello King Smidge, how are you today?!” She gritted her teeth and glared at him.

“Oh, you look mad. What can I do for you today Branch?” Smidge grinned up at her. He had a feeling he knew what had her pissed off. He was very proud of himself.

“What the fuck did you do to my pills?!” Branch snapped at him. She brought him inside but kept him wrapped up in her hair.

“What pills?” Smidge cocked his head and blinked a few times. He pretended to have no clue what she was talking about.

“Don’t test my patience! You know exactly what I’m talking about! You’re the only troll bold enough to go through the bunker and get into our stuff!” Branch growled and glared up at Jadice when he came walking in.

“What did you do Smidge?!” Jadice frowned. He rarely seen Branch angry. She had looks that could kill.

“I would never?!” Smidge looked offended that she would even suggest he got into her things.

“Don’t play innocent Smidge! Creek, Guy, and I are all pregnant! Damn it! We are going to have fifteen kids now!” Branch shot a glare at Poppy when he came in chuckling. “Did you take part in this?!”

“Your math is wrong Branch. If all three of you are pregnant, you would have fourteen kids.” Poppy looked amused.

“My math isn’t wrong. Guy’s having twins!” Branch snapped. She was livid.

“Oh! I get more nephews!” Smidge smirked. He was very proud of himself.

Jadice chuckled and shook his head. “You wouldn’t have so many if you kept your pants on Branch…”

“I didn’t…err…Jadice that’s not the point!” Branch growled and stared at Smidge. “If you weren’t my best friend and the king, I would beat the glitter out of you!”

“I’m almost scared?” Smidge chuckled and smiled at her. “You still love me.”

“You’re pushing your luck Smidge.” Poppy smiled softly. He had a feeling Branch was not in the mood.

“Yes, I still love you! You better be helping us out! It’s not easy having that many kids! And Sky, Stream, and Paprika are all probably pregnant now too. Ugh!” Branch let him go and looked at his belly. “I’d smack you around, but I want my godson safe.” She grumbled and crossed her arms.

“I take care of my friends.” Smidge grinned and began to sing to her. He had a huge proud look on his face. He knew she wouldn’t ever harm him. He may have pissed her off, but they were always there for each other. He wasn’t worried about it at all.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several miles north of Troll Village, there were three trolls, travelling together. They had long been separated from their colony and were trying to find a new home.

“I’m not so sure about this.” Marlin looked around. The thirty-year-old orange glitter troll had white and orange two toned hair. “Maybe we should start heading south.”

“South would be warmer.” Nemo, an eight-year-old orange glitter trolling looked up at his daddy. He had two toned white and orange hair too. He had half his right arm missing from the elbow down due to an incident when he was a baby. He stayed close to his father.

“Oh! Look! A flower!” Dory walked over to a carnivorous plant. The twenty-year-old blue glitter troll had bad memory issues and had to be constantly watched. He had yellow and black two-toned hair.

“No Dory! That’s not a flower!” Marlin ran over and grabbed his arm. “Let’s go this way.” He led his friend away from the dangerous plant. “Let’s go south.” He started walking south with them. He hoped what lied ahead was safe. They were only months away from colder weather, and he did not want them being out during the harsher winter months. It wasn’t safe.

“Wingdingle!” Nemo squealed and bolted as fast as he could south. He was frightened.

A wingdingle came scooping down towards Marlin and Dory.

Marlin bolted east with Dory, and then blended into the bushes with Dory. He looked around and frowned when he didn’t see Nemo. He looked worried. “Which way did he go Dory?” He whispered. The wingdingle was pecking around and looking for them.

“That way…” Dory pointed west. “I think…” He whispered, since Marlin was whispering.

Marlin groaned internally. He hoped that was the way Nemo went, because his boy was disabled. He feared he wouldn’t survive the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song that Smidge sings. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song writer and artist.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVDiQcJwoIQ


	2. Lost Little Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemo wonders south, hoping to find his father and friend.

Nemo headed directly south after he couldn’t find his father and friend. He looked around nervously, hoping to find a shelter before it got dark. He was taught long ago that being alone during the night meant almost certain death. He walked for several hours, until he approached the outskirts of Troll Village. He stopped at a strawberry patch and plucked one of the strawberries off the vine. He began to feast on the treat. He was so hungry.

“Hey! Those are my strawberries!” Sable came running over. He didn’t recognize this boy, and he had stolen one of his berries. He was upset. He had plans with those berries. He was round in the midsection and very pregnant. He wanted to make strawberry jam and topping with those berries. Biggie made yummy treats with fruit.

Nemo saw the white glitter troll come running towards him. He took one more bite, and then set it back down where he found it. He hung his head. “Sorry, I haven’t eaten all day…”

Sable approached the boy and looked him up and down. “Oh kid, where did you come from and where are your daddies?”

“I don’t know where our colony went. They were gone when dad, Dory, and I went back home to look for them. We had been split up by a Bergen attack.” Nemo looked at the strawberry and sighed. “I only have one dad. My birthing father died the day I was born due to a tragic accident. I was born premature and disabled because of it. I think my dad and friend were killed by a wingdingle. I ran off. I’m scared…”

“You poor thing. Come on, let’s get you settled into the village. It’s going to be alright.” Sable picked up the berry and gave it to Nemo. “Follow me.” He headed towards the royal flower pod. Once there, he knocked on the door.

Nemo followed him and looked around. He occasionally took a bite out of the strawberry. He was nervous.

Jadice answered the door and cocked his head when he saw Nemo. “I haven’t seen you before…” He looked at Sable questioningly.

Sable explained what was going on, and then put his hand on his belly, feeling it tighten up on him. “I have to go home. Sorry Jadice.” He headed straight home. He had a feeling he was having his baby tonight.

Nemo watched Sable retreat. He turned to Jadice and looked at him with wide worried orange eyes.

“Aw, he’s adorable.” Poppy came walking over and hugged Nemo. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Nemo…” Nemo finished his strawberry and snuggled into Poppy. He was so scared.

Smidge walked over and looked the young boy over. “Where did he come from?”

“Don’t worry Nemo, we’re going to make sure you’re taken care of.” Jadice explained to Poppy and Smidge what was going on.

“I know who would love him.” Smidge took Nemo’s hand. “Come with me kiddo. Our village has a sweet troll who loves kids. She would love to have one more.” He headed for the bunker. He had a huge grin on his face.

“She? Do you mean he?” Nemo was confused as he was led away from the royal flower pod.

Poppy and Jadice watched Smidge go. They knew who he meant, and they hoped Branch wasn’t going to kill him.

“She is very much a she. She’s a rare female troll. She loves kids.” Smidge got to the bunker door and knocked on it.

Sky answered the door. He looked down at Smidge and Nemo. His heart melted when he saw the young glitter troll. “Where did you come from?”

“Hi…” Nemo shuffled his feet nervously. “I came from the north.”

Smidge explained to Sky what was going on. He nudged the boy inside. “It’s getting dark. He’s all Branch’s. Enjoy your new nephew.” He bolted for the royal flower pod. He had a huge grin on his face.

“My new what?” Sky watched him retreat. He groaned and closed the door. “Come on in kiddo. We’ll get you settled in Basil’s room for the night.” He led him towards the living space. He had a bunch of trolls and trollings to meet still, and it looked like the young one was exhausted. Once in the living space, he explained what was going on to Stream, Paprika, Branch, Guy Diamond, and Creek.

Branch’s cheeks flushed. Of course, Smidge volunteered for her to take in the boy. What was one more when they were soon going to have fifteen children. He was probably trying to even it out.

Nemo leaned into Sky. He was so tired. Now that he was full, his body was screaming for sleep.

“Let’s get him in Basil’s bed. He’s about to pass out.” Creek gently picked up the tired child and carried him to Basil’s bed. He settled him into the bed and tucked him in.

Basil had heard the whole thing. He snuggled into the bed with Nemo and smiled. “I got a new brother…” He had a huge grin on his face.

Nemo snuggled into Basil and was soon sound asleep. The exhausted trolling was just glad he was safe.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several miles away, Marlin and Dory were going the wrong direction. They were trying to find Nemo. They were worried about his safety.

“Are you sure Nemo went this way Dory?” Marlin knew the answer, but he was so worried that if they went south like he had suggested earlier, they might never find Nemo. He was so worried about his son. It was getting dark.

“Maybe he went this way?” Dory walked towards the north.

“Oh no, he wouldn’t go that way. That’s back home, and we’re not going back there. Those Bergens caused us enough trouble.” Marlin grabbed Dory’s hand and headed south. “We should set up a fire soon. It’s getting dark.”

“I like fire.” Dory looked around and smiled. “Can I sing to the stars?”

“No Dory, no singing. We’re going to attract predators.” Marlin began gathering wood. He set up a fire and looked towards the south. He decided they would head that way the next morning. He had tears in his eyes. “Please stay safe my little Nemo…”


	3. Settling Into A New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nemo finds out what his new family is like.

As morning rose, Nemo got out of bed. He looked over at Basil and yawned. He got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. He held himself. He had to pee, and had no idea were the toilet was. He began to look around. He was hoping to figure out where it was soon. His bladder felt like it might burst. At the last possible moment, he found the bathroom. He shut the door and sighed in relief as he went potty. Once he was done, he flushed the toilet, and began running his own bath. He loved water and hadn’t had a bath for quite some time.

Branch woke up feeling nauseous. She bolted to the bathroom and walked in. She barely made it to the toilet, before she began throwing up.

Nemo startled and looked at his new mom. “Are you OK?” He looked worried.

Branch finished getting sick and groaned. She looked over at Nemo and smiled softly. “I’m alright. I’m pregnant. Morning sickness can be awful.” She flushed the toilet and went to wash her hands. “After your bath, I’ll give you a tour. There is a lot for you to see and learn about your new home.” She went to grab towels. She set them up for him, and then left to give him privacy.

Nemo smiled at her. “Aww, babies are cute.” He got into the tub and looked over at her when she brought towels in. “Thank you.” He began bathing. The water felt so good on his glittery skin. Once he was done, he got out of the tub and dried off. He set the towel on the floor, and then walked towards where he recalled seeing the kitchen. He was hungry. He widened his eyes, seeing a basket full of muffins. He loved muffins. He looked over at Sky, whom was the one who was working in the kitchen. “May I please?”

Sky looked up and smiled. “Help yourself Nemo.” He pulled another pan of fresh muffins out of the oven. They had several young trollings to feed, so he had lots of muffins to make.

Paprika came walking in and grabbed a muffin. He began munching on one. “Morning.” He smiled at Nemo, before walking towards the living space to share his muffin with his little Cherry. He sat down and put the muffin on his lap. He pulled Cherry out of his hair and tore off a tiny piece of muffin. He gave it to his son and watched him drool and nom on it. He was barely eating more then mushed foods, so he was trying to get used to it.

Nemo saw Paprika. He followed him. He was interested in him. He had never seen another troll with only one arm. He was curious. He ate his muffin and watched Paprika feed Cherry.

“What happened to your arm Nemo?” Stream walked up behind him. He was just as curious about Nemo’s right arm, as Nemo was of Paprika’s left arm.

“Dad never told me what exactly happened. All I know is that I was born the day my daddy Coral died. I was born early, and the incident caused me to lose half my right arm.” Nemo finished his muffin and walked closer to Paprika. “What happened to your arm and ear?”

“A mean troll took them away, but don’t worry. He’s no longer alive and will never hurt another troll again.” Paprika wasn’t going to tell anything further. He gave Cherry one more piece, and then handed him off to Stream for some supplemental milk since he was only six months old.

“Sounds like you’re a tough trolling Nemo.” Stream cradled Cherry and set him up to feed. He headed for the couch and sat down with him.

“That’s what Dory use to say. I miss him and dad.” Nemo teared up and rubbed his face of tears.

“They might still be alive out there.” Branch smiled softly. She had Berry’s daughter Lily riding on her shoulder. She had kept the pink glitter worm and rarely left the bunker without her. “Come on Nemo, let’s go meet the rest of the village. They will want to meet you.” She gently took his left hand and headed towards the bunker door. She hummed softly as she opened the door. She headed outside and began showing Nemo around. She explained were everything was and told him names of all the other trolls. She didn’t expect him to remember them all, but at least now everyone knew about him. She knew how scary it was the first day in a new colony. Her last stop was the medical pod. “This is were we take the sick and injured for medical treatment.” She walked in and grinned, seeing Biggie was there with Sable. “The baby came.” She walked over and smiled at the little one. The baby was sprawled out on Sable’s chest. He was white glitter trolling with light green hair. “Hello sweetheart.” She smiled at Sable. “You make pretty babies.”

“He arrived very early this morning. Sable has a tear, so he’s staying here for a day to recover. We named him Opal.” Biggie was right beside Sable’s bedside. 

Horizon was on Biggie’s lap. The young trolling looked over at Nemo curiously. “Hello…”

“Branch makes pretty babies too.” Sable smiled at Branch. He was a lot more relaxed then he was the night before. “Sorry for snapping at you Nemo. I love strawberries. I didn’t know you were hungry kiddo.”

“It’s OK. Daddy did tell me not to steal, but I didn’t know it was yours. I’ll pay you back one day.” Nemo watched the newborn curiously. He had never been around a tiny newborn before. “Opal is tiny.”

“Opal is actually quite large.” Biggie smiled softly. “The smallest baby I’ve seen so far was Victory. He was a tiny baby.” He recalled the little one arriving and scaring everyone. Especially since he was smaller then all the little dwarf trolls that had been born in the village.

“Poor Sable.” Branch gave her friend a gentle hug. “Next time make Biggie have the baby.”

“He’ll faint again, seeing his own blood.” Sable chuckled and hugged her back.

“Wow, I can’t imagine a smaller baby.” Nemo looked at Horizon and smiled at him. There were a lot of kids here. He had a feeling he was never going to be bored.

“Let’s let Sable rest. Come on Nemo, we should head home.” Branch took Nemo’s hand and headed out of the door. She walked towards the bunker. She wanted to make sure he knew the bunker inside and out too, since there were a lot of rooms he could use and play in, if he wished.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As morning rose for Marlin and Dory, they got ready to continue south. They were both hungry, so Marlin decided the first priority was going to be finding food. He soon found a raspberry bush. He walked over to it and began to eat the fruit hungrily.

Dory ate as well and licked his lips. He spotted a butterfly as they ate. He put some raspberries in his hair, and then took off after it. He laughed and ran around. “Get back here!”

Marlin grabbed a few more berries, and then followed Dory. “We have to get going. We need to find Nemo.” He had a bad feeling that his son didn’t survive the night, but he was going to try. He was going to look for him until the day he died. He had promised his Coral he would protect him for the rest of his life.


	4. The Strong Mama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch and her family have a bad day.

A week had gone by since Nemo had joined the family. The children all gathered. Current was going to walk with them all to the raspberry bush. He had a basket in his arms. He made sure everyone was ready, and then began to lead the way. Basil, Nemo, Victory, Keith, Bubbles, Sapphire, Aquamarine, Meadow, and Apple were with him. The ten-year-old wasn’t as bold as his brothers, but his parents trusted he would take care of them. He had strict instructions to come straight home if anything weird happened. Once at the bush, he began picking the delicious fruit. He wasn’t aware, but little Lilac had also followed them.

Lilac was a curious child. He walked away from them and looked at a nest of eggs. He picked one up and walked towards his siblings. It was a large egg, but he managed to get it fairly close to the bush, before an angry mother wingdingle landed on him and started tearing him part.

The ten trollings at the bush heard screams. All of them but Basil scattered and then blended into their surroundings. 

Basil hurried towards his brother’s screams. He pulled his knife out of his pouch and pounced on the bird. He squealed as it flapped her wings and tried to shake the angry trolling off. He took the knife and cut along it’s neck, like he had been taught by Smidge. He kept slicing, until the bird fell over. He got off the bird when it fell to the ground. He had killed it. He felt around for Lilac. He was very worried about him. He was no longer screaming. He found his battered body, not far from where he had wrestled with the bird. “Oh my god…” Tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He picked up his brother and bolted for the medical pod.

“Wait! Basil!” Current ran after him. He wanted to make sure he didn’t run into anything on the way back.

Tears ran down Victory’s cheeks as he walked over to the wingdingle. He saw hair and blood all over. He saw the egg and frowned. He picked it up and hurried back towards the camp. He had read that tamed wingdingles made good allies.

Nemo saw the wingdingle. His heart was pounding hard in his chest. It appeared to be the same bird that possible killed his father and friend. He was glad it was dead. He turned and made sure that the rest of the trollings headed home.

“I didn’t know he followed!” Current was sobbing by the time they got back. He had caught up with Basil and was running with him. Lilac was barely alive at this point. Once Basil got into the medical pod, he bolted home. He got his parents and had them follow him to the medical pod.

Branch picked up Peridot and ran towards the medical pod. She was worried about Lilac. It sounded like he had been hurt badly. She didn’t realize how badly yet. She got to the medical pod and hurried over. She cringed, realizing it had been a bad idea to bring five-year-old Peridot with her. She set him down and held him so he couldn’t see it anymore.

Lilac’s right arm and left leg had been pulled off. He had a gash going from his eye down his cheek. Half his hair had been yanked out of his head, and a gash on the top of his head had caused his skull to be exposed. He had been disemboweled as well. Gold was quickly trying to stop the bleeding, but he had a bad feeling he wasn’t going to save this poor boy. He had lost so much blood.

Peridot had seen it. His eyes were wide as he hugged into his mama’s leg. Tears ran down his cheeks. “Mama? Is he going to die?”

Creek came in and put his hand over his mouth. He burst into tears and hugged Branch to him. “Oh my god…”

Guy Diamond saw the bloody scene and quickly escorted the children out of the medical pod. He picked up Peridot and held him to his chest. “It’s bad buddy. We don’t know.” Once outside, he looked at Current. “What happened?!”

“I didn’t know he followed. A wingdingle got a hold of him. I think it was protecting it’s eggs.” Current cried into his hands. He was shaking and blamed himself for the incident. “I’m so sorry!”

“I killed it, but I didn’t get to Lilac in time.” Basil was sobbing. He was covered in Lilac’s blood.

Nemo was shaking and hugged Basil to him. Tears ran down his cheeks. He was scared for little Lilac.

Guy Diamond hugged Current to him and held him and Peridot. He widened his eyes when Victory came over with an egg. “Oh geez.” He frowned. “How many eggs were there?”

“I don’t know. This one was by the wingdingle.” Victory kept ahold of the egg. He could feel movement inside of its shell.

“Stay here kids. I’m going to go check.” Guy Diamond gave Peridot to Current and hurried towards the raspberry bush. Wingdingles were dangerous, but they made good companions when they were hand raised. He wasn’t going to let those babies die.

Poppy came up to the trollings and saw all the blood. He frowned and escorted them towards the bunker. “Let’s get you all cleaned up.” He looked very worried.

Several minutes later, Guy Diamond returned to the bunker with two more eggs. He found Victory and had him set the eggs together. “They’re still warm and I feel movement. We’ll have chicks in a few days I think.” He settled them down by the fire so they could stay warm. “Stay here kids.” He hurried towards the medical pod to check on Lilac. Once there, he stepped in and walked over to Branch. He could see that Lilac was pale and barely breathing. Gold was still working on getting him stitched up. He had already given him some blood, but he was losing it as fast as it was given to him. Guy Diamond pulled Branch into a hug and held her.

Creek held Branch and sniffled. Tears ran down his cheeks. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his gut.

Branch watched her son but gave Gold room to work. Tears ran down her cheeks. She was so scared. She began to sob when she watched Lilac take his last breath. She buried her face into Guy Diamond’s glittery chest. Her baby boy was gone.

Gold stopped and checked Lilac’s pulse. He didn’t feel one. “I’m sorry kid. I tried.” He looked at his parents and frowned. “I’m so sorry. He’s gone.” His heart broke for them.

Creek sobbed and held his mates close. He was devastated.

Guy Diamond sobbed and ran his hand through Branch’s hair. All three parents had gone gray. He was shaking as he pulled Lilac’s arm and leg out of his hair. He had found them over by the nest.

A few hours later, everyone gathered to say good bye to Lilac. Everyone had gone gray in mourning. Everyone who knew the adventurous five-year-old knew he had a huge heart like his parents. His loss was heart breaking.

Creek held hands with his mates and began to sing sadly. His baby boy was gone. He was a very sad daddy. Everyone else joined him in song. They were all gloomy.

Less then a mile away, Marlin heard Creek and then the village sing. He hurried that way with Dory. He was hoping that his son was with them, although at this point, he wasn’t sure he would be that lucky. It took a little bit of time, but he entered the scene as they had a moment of silence. He realized they were having a funeral, so he stayed quiet in respect. He held Dory’s hand and slowly made his way towards the crowd. 

The silence was suddenly broken by happy sobs. Nemo had spotted Marlin and Dory. He ran towards them and jumped into his daddy’s arms. He cried into his chest and hugged into him. “Daddy!”

Everyone turned to the two strange males. A few gasps were heard from the crowd. Marlin looked like an adult version of Nemo. They were all relieved that the father was still alive. His little boy needed him.

“Nemo!” Marlin held his son and cried happily. He was so glad that he was alright.

“Hi Nemo, why are you so sad?” Dory hugged them both. He was confused.

“Lilac died daddy. We tried to save him, but he went to heaven to be with daddy Coral.” Nemo sniffled and snuggled into him. He was shaking. It had been a long day and had been very terrifying.

Branch walked over to Marlin and Dory. She hugged them both and sniffled. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” She whispered. “Nemo? Show them to the bunker please? We still need to bury Lilac…” She hugged Nemo and sniffled. She hurried back over to her mates. She held them and cried with them. She was so sad.

Nemo nodded and hugged Branch. He then led Marlin and Dory towards the bunker. He was so glad that his daddy and friend were alive. It was a huge relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song that Creek and the rest of the village sang. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song artist and writer.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK0xcmMpeeA


	5. New Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the funeral, Branch and her family officially meet Dory and Marlin.

A few hours had gone by since Lilac’s funeral. Branch, Creek, and Guy Diamond made their way into the bunker. Branch had little Peridot in her arms. The little one was devastated. He was snuggled into his mama’s chest. His twin was gone. He kept saying that when he was all grown up, he was going to be a doctor so that he could save trolls that got hurt like his brother did so no one else ever lost their family members ever again. He didn’t understand how bad his brother’s injuries had been.

Nemo heard the door open. He hurried over and hugged into Branch. He looked sad. “I’m sorry mama Branch…”

Marlin stood up and frowned. “You’re Branch? Nemo told me all about the last week here at your home. Thank you so much for taking care of my son. I’m sorry to hear about Lilac…”

Dory saw Peridot. He hurried over and gasped. Even though Peridot was gray, it was still obvious that he was a rainbow trolling. “Oh! He’s so pretty!” He frowned, seeing that he was crying. “Oh, don’t be sad little guy. There’s no reason to be sad.”

“My brother died…” Peridot snuffled and rubbed his face of tears. He looked at Dory, and then buried his face into Branch’s chest. He was so upset.

“Oh…” Dory frowned and rubbed his back. “Poor kid.” He looked at Branch and cocked his head. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Branch. You must be Dory.” Branch set Peridot down and frowned when he plopped on his bottom and sobbed. She frowned and picked him back up. “Oh sweetie…” She held him and sniffled. She needed to pee, but her baby boy needed her. “Let’s go have some uncle Sky time.” She walked over to Sky when he came in and gave Peridot to Sky. She hurried to the bathroom before she peed herself.

Dory nodded. “I’m Dory.” He looked around at all the new trolls. “Oh, so many trolls here.”

“Dory give them space. They lost a trolling today.” Marlin held Nemo. He was sad that his boy had witnessed such a terrible incident. He was grateful that he was alright.

“Poor Lilac.” Nemo sniffled and snuggled close to his daddy. He was gray too. He may have only known Lilac a week, but the incident had been terrifying and sad.

Sky held Peridot and sat down with him. He rubbed his back and sniffled. “I know buddy. I’m going to miss him too.” He patted his back gently.

Branch came back out and picked Peridot up. She sat by Sky and ran her hand through his multi-shaded gray hair. She knew how close he was to his twin and couldn’t imagine losing Sky. Her heart broke seeing him this upset. “I love you Peridot. I’m here baby.”

Peridot hiccupped and sniffled. He snuggled into his mama and rubbed his nose. He startled when Creek came over to wipe his face of tears and snot. “I need to potty…” He didn’t want to let his mama go.

“Aww…don’t be sad. There’s nothing to be sad about.” Dory walked over and smiled at him. “You’re a pretty trolling.”

“Not now Dory.” Marlin pulled him out of the room. “I’m sorry Branch. He suffers from short term memory loss. He’s long term is pretty good though.” He turned to Dory. “Let’s go bake them some cookies.”

“I understand.” Branch got up and headed for the bathroom with Peridot. She was not alarmed or upset that Dory repeated himself. She had gone through similar issues when Smidge had first suffered the head injury. She knew what that was like. 

Peridot squirmed a little bit and then began to sob when he began to pee while snuggled into his mama’s chest. He couldn’t hold it any longer. “I’m sorry mama!” He was afraid she would be angry. He tried to stop it, but it didn’t stop.

Branch had almost made it to the toilet. She sat him down so he could finish in the toilet. She had a bad feeling Peridot was going to resort back to potty problems. She recalled reading about it years ago in one of the old scholar’s books. Every child handled grief differently, and she had a feeling she would have to baby Peridot for a little while, while he grieved the loss of his twin. “It’s alright baby. It was an accident.” She began to run a bath. “I love you sweetie.”

“I love you too mama.” Peridot finished and watched her run the bathwater. “Lilac wants a bath too…” He frowned, remembering them saying he died and wouldn’t come back. He burst into tears and began to cry again. He was shaking upset.

“Mama?” Basil came into the bathroom. “Can I bathe with Peridot?” He had tears in his eyes. He didn’t like that Peridot was so sad, and he was still shaking upset himself.

“Of course, baby.” Branch got the water set and put Peridot into the bathtub. She made sure Basil was set up with him in the tub, and then walked out of the bathroom. She went to the kitchen. “Marlin? Dory? Let me show you to a room.”

Marlin smelled urine and saw the wet spot. He had a feeling he knew what happened. It was one of the not so wonderful and gross things about being a parent. Sometimes you got peed or pooped on. He wasn’t surprised. “I can sleep on the floor. You’re grieving.”

Dory was munching on a cupcake. He smiled at Branch and waved to her.

“Nonsense, follow me.” Branch headed for the spare bedroom. “Are you a couple? If not, I can set up a temporary bed.” She opened the door and turned on the light. It had a small bed and a few blankets. “I suppose we don’t have to worry about clothes.”

“We’re not a couple, but I don’t mind sleeping in the same bed as Dory for the night. We’ve been sleeping right next to each other for the last three weeks to stay warm and for safety.” Marlin smiled softly and looked at the room. “It’s a nice little room. Thank you.”

Dory put the last piece of cupcake in his mouth and then jumped on the bed. He snuggled with the pillow and groaned. “So soft…”

“Now that dad found me, do I have to go away?” Nemo looked worried. He had been snuggled up to Basil every night since he showed up. He loved his adoptive brothers.

“No sweetie, you don’t have to go away. Even if your daddy moves into a flower pod, you’re more then welcome to come here any time you want.” Branch kissed Nemo’s forehead, and then walked out of the spare bedroom. She headed back towards the bathroom, hoping that the boys would be done so that she could have her own bath.

Marlin hugged Nemo to him and ran his hand through his two toned gray and white hair. “I’m so glad Branch and her family took you in Nemo. I’m so grateful. It looks like we have a new family.

“Yeah dad, a new family.” Nemo sniffled and nodded. He looked forward to a lifetime of love.


	6. Baby Wingdingles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wingdingle chicks hatch and Branch makes her opinion on the matter clear.

Four days after Lilac died, Guy Diamond was up, checking on the eggs. He saw a crack in one of the eggs. It was the middle of the night, but he thought Branch would love to watch them hatch, since she had a soft spot for wildlife and pets. He walked into the bedroom and gently woke his wife. “Sweetie? The babies are coming.”

Branch startled badly and scrambled out of the bed. She looked at him with wide eyes. She thought he was talking about the twins. “Oh god no…” She teared up and began to cry.

Guy Diamond frowned and hugged her to him. “Oh no, sweetie. Don’t cry.” He realized what he said and looked into her eyes. “Not my babies sweetheart. The baby chicks.”

Branch immediately stopped crying and glared at him. “You scared me!” She rubbed her face of tears. “You’re not keeping those things. Their mother killed my baby.” Tears threatened at the mention of Lilac. It had been a trying handful of days since his death. All of their boys were struggling to cope. Peridot was back to bed wetting nightly and Basil was having nightmares and had bed wet once. The rest of them were having nightmares every night. She hadn’t been getting much sleep. She was cranky and tired. Even Juicy, Berry, and Lily were acting strange and had been gray. Life seemed to be at a disarray after their tragic loss.

“Come on, let’s at least give them a chance. They’re innocent babies. Four of our own babies were innocent results of yucky stuff. These babies are no different.” Guy Diamond led her towards the living space. He knew she didn’t want anything to do with the wingdingle chicks, but he recalled his father having one when he was little, and they were very good to have around. They kept small predators away and helped with foraging. Having three was going to be so good for the colony.

Branch scrambled to grab Lily, before being practically dragged towards the living space. She glared at Guy Diamond. She wasn’t amused.

“Mew!” Lily had been startled awake. She wriggled and looked up at Branch with tired glittery eyes. She snuggled into Branch, sensing that she was tense and upset.

Guy Diamond got to the living space and led her to the eggs. He pointed to the one that was hatching. He had a huge grin on his face. “My dad had a pet one when I was a kid. It died when I was ten, but I remember how much it helped the colony. Having them around will be a blessing. I will make sure of it. Dad had taught me how to raise them properly.”

Branch glanced at the egg and cringed, seeing a beak poke out of a hole in the shell. She shuddered and shook her head. “Absolutely not. I don’t approve of this! I don’t want anymore of my babies getting hurt or killed!” She put Lily in her hair and crossed her arms. Her cheeks were flushed, and her stomach was turning. Morning sickness, lack of sleep, hormones, and grief had her patience worn thin.

Guy Diamond looked a little worried that she would be mad at him. He had already become attached. He had been keeping them warm and they were helping him cope with the loss of their son. He didn’t want to get rid of them. They were too young. “They will die if we put them outside to fend for themselves.”

“Three less predators around. Think Guy! We have our babies to protect!” Branch widened her eyes when the shell cracked more. “Oh god, it’s going to eat our pet worms.” She knew wingdingles loved glitter worms as food. Especially baby chicks.

“I’ll teach them not to eat our pets. Don’t worry mama.” Guy Diamond knew Branch was very attached to all three worms. Especially Lily. All three often slept snuggled up to her side and feet. Smidge even occasionally teased her and called her the crazy worm lady. Especially since Branch had recently bred Lily on purpose with another troll’s pet worm. Lily was going to have babies soon herself.

“I told you no!” Branch stomped her foot down. She was not amused at all.

Guy Diamond saw that the first baby was free from its shell. He picked the large chick up and put it into Branch’s arms. “Do you really want to put this innocent baby outside where it will die?”

Branch’s eyes went wide when Guy Diamond put the baby in her arms. He knew she was a sucker for baby wild life. Her heart melted. She shot a glare at him. “Fine, but if it eats my pet worms, I’ll have your head.” She set the baby down by the other two eggs. She groaned and rushed to the toilet. She began to puke half way there. Tears ran down her cheeks. She was now upset that she didn’t make it and was going to have a mess to clean up.

Marlin was awake due to Branch and Guy Diamond’s fighting. He frowned when he had heard the puking. He got up and made his way towards Branch. He frowned and grabbed a trashcan. He gave it to her and rubbed her back as she got sick.

Guy Diamond bolted for the bathroom and began to puke into the toilet. The sound of Branch getting sick had caused him to feel sick too due to his own morning sickness.

Branch finished and sat the trashcan down. She went to grab towels and knelt down to clean it up. She didn’t make eye contact with Marlin as he helped her clean up her own puke. She didn’t feel good. Once she got it wiped up, she went to stand, only to faint.

Marlin helped her to the ground and frowned. He went to get a cool wash cloth. He returned and ran it over her face. “Oh geez, poor mama.” He had a feeling she had stood too fast.

Lily tumbled out of Branch’s hair. She squeaked and crawled back over to her. She looked worried.

Guy Diamond finished in the bathroom and came out. He startled and ran over when he saw that Branch was on the floor. “What happened?!”

“She fainted. She was standing up from cleaning up her puke.” Marlin fanned her. “She should be alright. I helped her to the ground.”

Branch started to come to. She looked up at Marlin and Guy Diamond. “I don’t feel good.”

“Let’s get you in bed.” Marlin gently picked her up and headed for their bedroom. He set her down in the bed and tucked her in. “Get some rest.” He headed out to clean out the rest of the puke.

Guy Diamond went to get water for Branch. He gave it to her and sat down by her. “I’m sorry my love.”

“I’m so stressed.” Branch whispered, then drank some of the water. She leaned into him and sniffled.

“I know sweetie. I’m not helping by keeping the wingdingle chicks.” Guy Diamond ran his hand through her dark gray hair.

“No, it’s ok. I understand now.” Branch set the glass down on the coffee table. She curled up with Juicy and held him. “Can you go check on Lily? She probably fell with me.”

“Of course, sweetie.” Guy Diamond saw that Lily had crawled into bed. He checked her over, but it appeared she was just fine. He set her down in front of Branch and smiled when she pulled her in for a snuggle. “I’m going to go watch the other two chicks hatch and get them settled. Call me if you need me.”

“Thank you, Guy…” Branch snuggled with the glitter worms. She was soon back to sleep. She was in desperate need of sleep.

Guy Diamond returned to the spot the baby wingdingles were at. He saw that the other two had hatched in the time frame he had been busy puking and helping Branch. He made sure to remove the shell and put down water and protein rich food down for them to eat. He blocked off their area so that they didn’t wonder around. He then headed for bed. He looked forward to seeing what they looked like as adults. He was hoping they were all different colors. Only time would tell. Right now, they looked like fluffy white cotton balls. He knew they would make the future wonderful for them all.


	7. Going Through Pictures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch pulls out all the pictures she has of her children and goes through it to make a scrapbook in Lilac’s honor.

A few days later, Branch pulled out a box from one of the storage rooms. She carried it to the living space and sat down by the wingdingle pen. She pulled out stacks of pictures. She began going through them. She wanted to make a scrapbook in memory of Lilac. There were lots of pictures of him and Peridot. Biggie had made sure to take several, since they were both beautiful children. They were very photogenic.

“Lilac…” Peridot sat down by Branch and picked up a picture of Lilac chasing a butterfly around. He sniffled and looked up at his mama. “May I keep this one in a frame in my room please?”

“Yes sweetie, you may keep that one.” Branch found one of when Lilac and Peridot got into a batch of flour. She recalled it took hours to clean all the powdery food out of every nock and cranny of the kitchen. They were two years old when they did that. She tucked it into the scrapbook pile.

“Oh! Is this one of me?” Basil reached down and felt for a picture. He picked it up and showed it to his mom upside down.

“No, that’s a picture of your daddy Creek holding baby Bubbles.” Branch smiled softly. She put that picture away. It was nice seeing all the baby pictures.

“You can’t go through the pictures Basil.” Sapphire walked over and rolled his eyes when Basil flipped him off. “You can’t see them.” He squealed when Basil tackled into him and began punching him. “Mom! He’s hitting me!”

“Basil! Get off your brother! Both of you can go to the corner and think about what you just did! Calling Basil off for his disability is not OK, and Basil, it is not OK to hit Sapphire because he called you off for being blind. Get going before I sick Smidge on you.” Branch glared at her sons. They were testing her already thin patience.

Basil got off Sapphire and went to the corner. He grumbled that he could do anything he wanted to do. He may have been blind, but in his mind, he wasn’t disabled.

Sapphire crossed his arms and went to another corner. He threw a toy towards Basil, hitting him upside the head. It was a hard toy.

Basil startled badly and widened his eyes. That hurt. He burst into tears and put his face into his hands. He began to cry. He now had a throbbing headache.

“Didn’t see it coming, did you?!” Sapphire grumbled and glared at the corner.

“Sapphire!” Guy Diamond walked over and grabbed him by the ear. “You know better!” He walked him towards Basil. “Apologize!”

Branch was about to get up when Guy Diamond took the matter into his own hands. She went back to going through the pictures.

Basil tensed up when he heard Guy Diamond and Sapphire approach. He screamed when Peridot suddenly touched his back. He didn’t expect the sudden touch.

Peridot startled and hugged into Basil. “Don’t cry big brother…”

Sapphire startled when Basil screamed. He turned and hugged into Guy Diamond. The scream startled him.

Creek hurried into the room and looked between them. “What happened?!”

“The boys got into a fight.” Branch had a picture in her hand of Lilac and Peridot when they were newborns. Tears ran down her cheeks. She was struggling to keep her cool. Her heart ached. She knew why the boys were acting out. They were expressing grief and not being kind to each other in the process.

Guy Diamond held Sapphire and sighed. “You boys all have each other. You need to get along. Please don’t hurt each other.”

Basil sat down on the floor and hugged his knees. Peridot had startled him badly, and he had had a flashback of when Tourmaline had hurt him. Tears ran down his cheeks. He was shaking.

Peridot snuggled into Basil and cried. He was worried about his older brother. He didn’t like when he was upset. He wished Lilac was there. Lilac would be able to make him smile. “I love you, big brother…”

Creek sighed and sat down by Basil. He gently pulled him into a hug and held him close. “Let it out buddy. It’s OK to cry.” He rubbed his back as Basil had a good cry. He noticed the bump on his head and frowned. “Who hit him on the head?”

“I did…” Sapphire sniffled and walked over to the corner. He put his nose in it and sniffled. “I’m sorry Basil…”’

Branch heard the apology. She slowly relaxed and continued to go through the pictures. She was glad that Sapphire apologized. She planned to have a talk with Basil later. She felt at this time, getting nailed in the head was punishment enough. He was clearly very upset. She didn’t want to frighten him more. As she got to the last picture at the bottom of the box, she began to sob. It was a picture of Lilac, snuggled up to Stream’s swollen belly when he was pregnant with Cherry. He loved Cherry. She decided that one needed to be framed. She tucked that one and the one Peridot wanted framed into her hair. She then gathered the pictures up and put them into the box. She put the box away, and then grabbed the pile of Lilac pictures. She went towards her study with them. She set them down at her table, shut the door, locked it, and then walked over to her recliner. She sat down and cried into her hands. She needed to have a good cry too. It just wasn’t the same without her little Lilac.


	8. The Miracle Of Birth And The Heartache Of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily has her babies.

A few weeks had gone by. Branch knew Lily was due to have her baby worms any day now. She carried her little pet around constantly at this point. She wanted to be right there when she had her babies. Lily was special for so many reasons. She helped Branch get through a lot of rough stuff and had been born in her lap. She had a close bond to her, just like Biggie had a close bond with Mr. Dinkles. She had just finished lunch, when she felt Lily tense up. She looked down at her and smiled softly. “Is it time sweetheart?”

“Mew.” Lily snuggled into Branch. She loved her owner. She was having a contraction but was staying much calmer then her mother had been when she had her and her brothers.

“We got this my sweet girly.” Branch left the kitchen table and carried Lily to her birthing box. She set her down and went to grab towels and water for her. “Boys? Who wants to watch the worms being born?”

Basil heard her and bolted over to Lily’s nest. He sat down and smiled. “You’re a good mama Lily.”

Nemo followed Basil over and watched Lily. He was curious.

Victory hurried over to Branch and smiled. “I do!”

Peridot walked over and smiled. “Is she going to be OK?”

“She’s going to be fine. I’m going to move her to the living space. It’s warmer in there for the babies.” Branch picked up the box and made her way into the living space. She set the box down close to the fire place. She gave Lily a drink of water and set a towel down on her lap.

“How do you know she is having the babies?” Aquamarine walked over and watched Lily breathe hard. He was curious.

“Mew.” Lily looked over at the wingdingle chicks. She was a little nervous about being this close to them.

Basil reached in and pat Lily gently on the head. “Lily is very brave.”

Berry came crawling over and sat in Victory’s lap. She was curious about the birth.

Victory had sat down by Branch. When Berry crawled into his lap, he stroked her gently. Berry loved Victory, and still mostly stayed close to him during the day.

“See the blood? There’s a little bit near her bottom. That’s normal during birth. She’s also breathing hard. See how her chest is raising and falling?” Branch smiled at Lily. “Don’t worry mama. They won’t get you or the babies. I will move you back to our room after the babies are born. They’re safe.” She frowned, seeing Juicy crawl over and get between Lily and the wingdingles. It appeared he was trying to protect Lily from the chicks. “Don’t go in there Juicy!” She cringed when he crawled between bars of the pen. She jumped to her feet when one of the chicks ran over to him and grabbed him. “No! Guy!!!” She watched in horror as the chick tilted its head and began swallowing Juicy. The glitter worm was screaming in pain and horror.

“Oh snap!” Berry looked on in horror. She got into the box and stayed between her daughter and the chicks.

Guy ran into the room and grabbed Juicy’s rear end right before he got completely swallowed. He pulled him out and glared at the chicks. “No! Bad babies! You don’t eat the worms!” He rushed to the couch and checked Juicy over. He was roughed up due to the baby chick’s beak. Tears ran down his cheeks as he put pressure on a particularly nasty gash. “Hold on buddy. I’ll have Gold look at you.” He hurried out the door.

Branch sat a towel over the box and picked up the box. “Come on kids. We’re going to do this in mommy and daddies’ bedroom.” She had tears in her eyes. She knew it was an accident. The chicks were still young and learning, but that had been frightening. She knew that might happen. She hoped Juicy was alright. She got into her room and set the box down by her side of the bed. She removed the towel and smiled softly. Lily had birthed a silver glittery glitter worm with green stripes and blue blush. “Aww, she’s so pretty Lily.” She was hoping that one of the babies would be glittery like their daddy. She cleaned her up and looked at her boys. “We have to be gentle with the babies. They’re fragile at this age. Light gentle touches.”

The kids had followed Branch into the bedroom. They all looked worried. Juicy was a good glitter worm, even if the wasn’t the brightest worm in the family.

“Is Juicy going to die too?” Peridot’s lip wobbled.

Basil heard light mews. He reached over and touched the newborn worm. He was quietly hoping that Juicy would be OK too.

Current was nearby watching. His heart was racing. He loved Juicy. He almost followed, but he wanted to watch the babies being born.

Branch gently set the newborn by her mama. She pulled Peridot into her lap and held him. “I hope not sweetie.” She set the towel on his lap and gently picked up the next worm as he was born. This one was pink, glittery, and had blue stripes with yellow blush. She set him on the towel and had Peridot gently help clean the baby. If he wanted to be a doctor, she felt he needed to know early what it was like to experience blood and birth. She smiled, seeing him brighten up. She was glad he liked this. It was a good sign. 

Peridot’s colors began to restore. He giggled when the baby squeaked. “He’s so cute mama!”

Basil heard the giggle. He smiled. It was so nice hearing Peridot giggle. He’d been so sad since Lilac died.

Branch smiled and set the baby down in the box. “I think she’s going to have four or five. What do you think Peridot?”

Lily tensed up, expelling a third baby. She watched Branch pick her up. She kept looking at her mom. She wanted to make sure this was all alright. She was protective.

“I think she will have six!” Peridot had a huge grin on his face. He was excited now. He helped clean the third baby. This one was green with yellow stripes and blue blush. “She’s so pretty!”

“Lily makes pretty babies.” Victory had a big smile on his face. “Just like Berry.”

“Six is a lot of babies. What do you think Lily? Do you think it’s six too?” Branch knew Lily could have that many. Her pet looked very swollen still. She reached over and grabbed a fourth as she was born.

Lily watched them clean her babies. She snuggled with the ones that were set next to her. She was glad they were alright.

“They are pretty.” Nemo watched on curiously.

Peridot helped clean this baby. It was a blue glittery worm with orange stripes and green blush. “Lily is a good worm.”

Guy Diamond came home. He walked over to the bedroom and peeked over at the birthing worm. He sniffled and watched from a distance.

Basil heard the sniffle. He got up and walked over to Guy Diamond. He snuggled up to him and reached up. He could feel that Guy Diamond’s face was wet with tears. He didn’t have to ask to know what happened. Tears ran down his own cheeks as he snuggled into his papa.

Branch looked over at Guy Diamond and frowned. She swallowed hard and then turned to Lily as she had a fifth and final worm. This one was green glittery, with blue stripes and pink blush. She gave him to Peridot and watched him clean the baby. “You did a good job Lily. Thank you for helping me Peridot. You did a good job too.” She got up and walked over to Guy Diamond. They whispered to each other for a few minutes. She found out Juicy died in Guy Diamond’s arms not long after arriving at the medical pod. Tears ran down her cheeks. He died feeling like he was protecting his niece, so it was understandable and a true accident. She whispered to him that she loved him. She held him and rubbed his back as he cried silently.

Peridot was too busy fussing over the baby worms to notice. He was a happy boy. He got to help.

Guy Diamond stepped out of the room and motioned the older boys out of the room too. “Juicy didn’t make it kids. Don’t panic. Mama and I decided that the wingdingles will be moved outside so that this won’t happen again. I plan to teach them to leave the worms alone, but until they know better, they need to be separated completely.” He hugged Basil, Bubbles, Nemo, and Sapphire to him. “We will have a little funeral to say good bye to him in a little bit.”

Basil, Current, Keith, Victory, Sapphire, Aquamarine, Meadow, Nemo, and Bubbles began to cry. It had been just shy of a month since Lilac died. Their hearts were broken.

Branch held Meadow, Victory, and Keith. She could feel Current and Aquamarine press into her. “With life, there is always death. It is the way of life little ones. He died protecting his family. It’s honorable.” Although she did try to warn Juicy. She did try to save the stubborn worm. She looked at her bedroom door. Peridot had just got his colors back. She was afraid to tell him that Juicy died, but she knew he would find out eventually. “Daddy, I’m going to go talk to Peridot. You better go talk to River.”

Guy Diamond nodded and let the boys go. “You nine go get everyone ready for the funeral, OK?” He watched them all leave. He went towards the library to talk to River. He knelt down and took his hand. “Sweetie, Juicy passed away. We are going to have a funeral for him in a little bit.”

River was sitting in a chair reading when he saw his daddy come in. He frowned when he found out Juicy died. “OK daddy. He was an old worm.” He sniffled and rubbed his face of tears. He was sad, but he understood that old life died. It was normal.

“Yeah, he was getting pretty old.” Guy smiled softly. Juicy still had years left in his life, but he did live a full life for a pet. He was glad River understood. He didn’t plan to tell him what happened. He felt it was not necessary.

Branch walked over to Peridot and picked him up. She sat him on her knee and held him. “Sweetie, Juicy’s injuries were too great. He passed away. I’m sorry baby boy.”

Peridot frowned and pressed into Branch’s chest. He began to sob and instantly went back to being gray. He loved Juicy and it was salt on a fresh wound. He missed his twin brother. “I’m going to be a doctor, so this never happens again ever!”

“You will be a great doctor sweetheart. I love you so much.” Branch looked down at their pet worms. Berry and Lily had curled up around the newborn glitter worms. She already planned on keeping one of the babies. She had a feeling after this, they might keep two of them. They wouldn’t replace Juicy, but they would provide the family with love, which the so desperately needed right now.


	9. Testing Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smidge strikes a nerve with Branch.

A month after Juicy died, Smidge was on his way over to check on Lily and her baby worms. He had considered asking for one since they were Berry’s grandbabies. He knocked on the door and smiled when Branch answered the door. “Good morning.” He headed for the living space. “Where are the worms?” He rubbed his hands together and grinned.

“They are in our room.” Branch headed for the bedroom. She led him in there and opened the door. “She’s extra protective, so watch out. She might go vicious on you.” She was only half serious. Lily was a good mom, but she was far from vicious.

“I don’t blame her after what happened to Juicy.” Smidge looked at the five babies and smiled. “They sure are cute. May I have one please? I want to give Jadice one as a present.”

“Yeah, you may have one.” Branch smiled softly. She got on her knees and picked up the silver one. “I’m keeping this one.” She also picked up the blue one. “And this one.”

“You’re keeping two?” Smidge wriggled his eye brows. “Crazy worm lady.” He liked the blue one. He tried to gently grab her. 

Branch smacked his hand away with her hair. “There are three others to choose from. You can’t have her.”

“Branch…come on. You’re keeping all the girls.” Smidge complained. He wanted the blue one. He bit his bottom lip, feeling a contraction. He internally cursed, thinking that this baby had awful timing.

“We girls have to stick together. Besides, there is a green worm that is also a girl. I’m not going to keep her.” Branch stuck out her tongue.

Smidge reached over and grabbed the baby quickly. He went to take off but was quickly grabbed by Branch. 

Branch took the baby back, nailed him in the balls, and put her back into the box. “I told you that you can’t have her!” She was not in the mood for his antics.

Smidge hollered in pain and reached his hands down to cup his manhood. “Branch!” He was already hurting from contractions, and that just made it so much worse. “That hurt!”

“You do not want to mess with me today Smidge. I’m in a bad mood!” Branch wrapped her hair around him but was gentle because of his baby.

Smidge faked a smile as he looked up at her. “I’m going to take her home. She’s all mine.” He stuck out his tongue. Tears ran down his cheeks, but he was still trying to mess with her despite being in pain.

“Seriously Smidge, why are you over here? Are you going to go through our stuff again? Are you going to try and steal one of the baby worms? They’re too young. I mean, really you know I’ve been in a bad mood!” Branch crossed her arms and watched him squirm.

“I came over to visit. I don’t do it enough. I’ve been busy as one of the kings.” Smidge frowned. “Why are you so testy? Please don’t make this long. I’m in labor.”

Branch watched him. She didn’t believe him. She just thought he was crying because of being nailed where it counted. “Well, let’s see, you swiped the contraceptive pills for sugar pills, causing all of us to get pregnant. Sky, Stream, Paprika, Guy Diamond, Creek, and I are all pregnant and have to deal with that with only a few people in and out to help us with all of our kids. A wingdingle killed my second youngest son. A baby wingdingle killed our pet worm, but Guy still wants to keep them. He wants the wingdingle chicks. My boys are at each other’s throats because they’re still too young to know how to handle grief. Basil is struggling with the fact that he is blind and can’t do some things that his brothers can do. Current is blaming himself for Lilac’s death. I’ve had morning sickness the last two months and the medication is hardly working.” She glared at him. “You tell me why I shouldn’t be angry? I want a box of chocolates! And a huge bowl of ice cream with blackberry toppings, but Biggie’s been busy… Stupid cravings!”

“Are you done? I need to go to the medical pod. I’m in labor.” Smidge repeated. He could feel that the contractions were getting closer together. He didn’t want to have his son while wrapped up in her hair.

“Yeah, I’m done.” Branch felt a little better after ranting to him. She retracted her hair and frowned, seeing that his pants were bloody. “Crap, you weren’t lying about being in labor.” She picked him up and hurried towards the front door.

“I wouldn’t joke about that.” Smidge grasped her shirt as he was being carried. “I’m sorry I contributed to pissing you off. Please don’t hit me where it hurts again? That hurt extra bad while in labor. Fuck! I’m having the kid now! The head is out!” He cried out, feeling his baby emerge in his pants.

Branch gently set Smidge down and helped get the baby out of his pants. “Oh geez, I’m so sorry Smidge.” She wiped the baby’s face with the end of her shirt. She picked Smidge back up and walked the rest of the way towards the medical pod.

“You were mad. I understand.” Smidge held his son close and smiled when he began to cry. He looked just like Smidge, so it was unclear if he was Jadice’s or Poppy’s baby, although to him it didn’t matter at all. “Welcome to the world Oracle.”

Branch got him to the medical pod and sat him down in a bed. She watched Dr. Saza clean the baby. “I’ll go get Poppy and Jadice.” She hurried towards the royal flower pod. She felt a little guilty, but at the same time, gratified. She was glad she got him back for being a butt, even though he had to have his baby in his pants because of it. It had been so worth it.


	10. Extinguishing Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creek and Guy Diamond try hard to get Branch to cool her growing temper.

A few days later, Creek was on his way home with a box of chocolates and a huge bowl of ice cream with blackberry topping. He had babysat Biggie’s sons so that he could make the goodies. Branch’s temper was getting scary. He knew she was stressed out and hormonal, but she didn’t even want to be touched anymore. He had a bad feeling she was facing demons from her past. He got home and was quickly swarmed by hungry and eager trollings. They had seen the bowl of ice cream and wanted some. “No, you kids are not having mama’s ice cream.” He hurried towards Branch and set the bowl in her hands. “I love you…”

Branch suddenly had a bowl of vanilla ice cream in her hands. She looked up and smiled. “Thank you, Creek. I love you too.” She glared at Basil as he stole a spoonful of the ice cream. “You little sneak!” She moved the bowl away and hurried for her study. She got in there and closed the door. She locked it and sat down in her recliner with the bowl.

Creek barely made it into the study with her. He smirked and pulled out a box of chocolates out of his hair. He sat it down on the table. “Boys? All of you go over to visit Smidge. He wants you all to meet little Oracle. Stay the night and help him out. Take Periwinkle, Kelvin, Ruby, and Cherry with you please.” He smirked knowing Smidge didn’t want them all to stay the night. He had heard what the stinker did to his already cranky wife. It was payback time.

All of the boys pouted but left. They wanted some ice cream too.

Guy Diamond was at the table in the study. He was writing. He grinned when his wife and husband came scrambling in. “Hello my beauties.” He looked over at his pregnant wife as she slowly savored the bowl of ice cream. “You managed to get in here with a full bowl?”

“Basil managed a bite.” Branch licked her lips and eyed the box of chocolates. “What did you have to do in order to manage this?” She knew Biggie was busy with baby Opal.

“Smidge told me you were desperately craving chocolate and ice cream with blackberry toppings. I babysat Horizon and Opal so he could get it done.” Creek put his hand on his baby bump. His little one was stretching and kicking. He was a little tired, but seeing Branch lighten up a little bit was worth it.

Guy Diamond finished what he was writing and got up. He walked over to Branch and set it down in her lap. “I love you Branch.”

Branch sat the bowl down on her tiny baby bump. She smiled, feeling the baby kick at the cold spot on her belly. She moved it to her coffee table, and then opened the letter. She began to read it.

“To my queen,

Words can’t describe how much you mean to us. I know life hasn’t been the easiest for you, but I have enjoyed the ride with you. You’re very precious to Creek and I. We hope to die old with you. You’re our world. We love you so much. I hope one day you can forgive me for the mistakes I have made, and the hurt that I inflicted. Please forgive me my love. I don’t want to lose you.

Your goofy glitter mate,

Guy Diamond XOXOXO”

“You’re not going to lose me Guy.” Branch got up and hugged into him. She didn’t like the wingdingle chicks, but she wasn’t mad at him. She was more upset about the situation then anything else. What bothered her the most was that she lost the only baby from the Tourmaline rape that was one of her special’s babies. It wasn’t fair. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheek. “I love you both so much. I’m sorry I’ve been so tense and cranky.”

“Oh, sweetie, please don’t cry.” Creek held them both. He was worried about her. She was so stressed out. He began singing to her. He ran his hand through her gray hair. He really wanted her to feel better. He wanted desperately to see her colors again.

Guy Diamond cried with her. He sniffled and joined in song with Creek. He only wanted her happy.

“I love you both so much. I’m sorry I’ve been so cranky.” Branch sniffled and snuggled into her mates. She slowly relaxed in their arms and squeaked when she suddenly felt Creek squeeze her butt. “Brat…”

“It’s a sexy butt.” Creek murmured. He reached in and kissed her passionately.

“It is a very sexy butt.” Guy Diamond reached over and played with her hair.

“This sexy butt wants to finish her ice cream.” Branch reached over for her ice cream and grabbed it. She let them snuggle with her, while she ate the rest of her ice cream. She loved vanilla ice cream with blackberry toppings.

Creek watched her eat the ice cream. He snuggled with her and kept murmuring that he loved her. He startled when she suddenly shoved a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He shivered in delight. He loved vanilla ice cream too.

Guy Diamond chuckled and kissed her down her ear and neck. He didn’t mind her finishing, but he was feeling urges. He wanted her.

Branch fed Guy Diamond the last bite, and then set the bowl down. “OK, OK, you can have me.” She shivered when he pulled her shirt off. “Guy…” She groaned when he reached his hand down her shorts. “Eager…” She moaned, feeling his fingers message her vulva.

Creek grinned and pulled her shorts off. He took his pants off and pressed into her. He kissed the back of her neck and back. He whispered that he loved her so much.

Guy Diamond licked his fingers clean, and then reached in for a kiss. He ran his hands through her hair. “Mine…”

Branch took Guy Diamond’s member in her hand and began rubbing it gently. She breathed sharply, feeling Creek finger her. She shivered and whispered. “Please, I want it.” She moaned loudly as he pushed into her from behind. She leaned forward slightly and took Guy Diamond’s member into her mouth. She suckled on his member as Creek pound on her from behind.

Creek thrust his hips and held her hips close. He kissed along her back. “I love you so much…”

Guy Diamond moaned loudly and held her shoulders as she gave him head. “Oh god, your mouth is so magical…”

Branch whimpered as Creek pushed deeper. She shivered and ran her teeth gently against Guy Diamond’s member. She swallowed his semen when he released. “Oh god, that’s so good.” She looked up at him and kissed him when he knelt down. “I love you…”

They mated with each other for a few hours, before settling down in a make-shift bed in the study. They needed each other and felt so much better. All three of them had restored their colors. They would weather the storm of life and get through this as a team. They were so in love with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song that Creek and Guy Diamond sang to Branch. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song writer and artist.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL8VCJsHI4A


	11. Memory Dilemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone took advantage of Dory’s memory problems.

A week had gone by, and Marlin was on his way to the medical pod with Dory. Dory had been puking for a few days now, usually not long after eating. He was very worried about his buddy. Dory had a strong stomach, so to have him this sick had him concerned that he was dangerously ill. He got into the medical pod and sat him down in a bed. “He’s going to check to see why you’re sick Dory.”

“I’m sick?” Dory put his hands over his mouth and gasped. “Am I going to die?!”

Gold walked over and checked Dory over. He noticed an enlarged pod within his belly. “You’re not going to die.” He looked worried. He knew Dory had memory problems, so finding him pregnant had him worried. “Marlin? Does Dory have a mate?”

“No, he’s still single.” Marlin’s face went pale. “Oh my god, he’s pregnant, isn’t he?!”

“Oh! I get to have a baby! Yes!” Dory looked excited. “I get to be a daddy.” He put his hand down on his belly and grinned. 

“I hope that the father is going to be involved.” Gold looked at Dory. “Dory? Do you know who the father is?” He looked concerned. He had a feeling Dory didn’t know. If that was the case, they needed to find out who, and make sure he took responsibility for his baby. Dory was a very sweet troll, but he didn’t need to be alone to have a baby.

“I knew I shouldn’t have made him a flower pod to live by himself. That was a huge mistake.” Marlin looked mad. He tried to think of who he had seen around Dory. He was worried about his friend. Dory was a sweetheart, but his short-term memory was awful. He knew no one had become serious with him. “How far along is he?”

“Who is the father of what?” Dory had already forgotten he was pregnant.

“The father of your baby.” Gold smiled softly. “He’s shy of two months pregnant.”

“So, it was right after we got here…” Marlin looked angry. He was going to get to the bottom if this.

“I don’t know. Are you the father of my baby? Where is my baby? I want to see him!” Dory had a huge grin on his face.

“I’m not the father. The baby is right here in your belly Dory. He’s only about two months along. You’ll give birth to him in about four months.” Gold was glad Dory was happy about this. He was a little bit amused that Dory asked about him being the father. He was thirty-five years old and had only had one child with his mate before he died when he was twenty years old. The young one was fifteen now. Emerald was a blessing in his life and was starting to train to take Dr. Saza’s place as doctor when he turned twenty-one. Gold was a doctor himself, so the fact that his son was following his footsteps made him so proud.

“Thank you, Gold. I trust you weren’t the father, but we must figure out who it was. They have a responsibility to this baby. Dory will be a great father, but he’ll struggle to do it alone…” Marlin helped Dory off the medical bed. “Dory? Let’s go see Branch.”

“I love you Gold!” Dory waved Gold and blew him a kiss, before heading toward the door. “Branch is a sweetheart.” He began humming as he walked towards the bunker. It had taken about a month and a half, but he finally could remember where Branch lived.

“Aww, I love you too Dory.” Gold smiled softly and watched Dory go. He hoped they figured out who did this to Dory. It wasn’t fair for him to go at this alone.

Marlin walked with Dory and knocked on the door when they got to the bunker. He had an angry look on his face when Creek answered the door. “Hi Creek, we have a huge problem.”

“A problem? Come on in Marlin.” Creek looked worried. Marlin looked pissed, which told him that something bad had gone down.

Dory gagged and ran towards the bathroom. He got to it and began getting sick into the toilet.

Branch heard the puking. She gagged and put her hand over her mouth. She rushed to a trashcan and began puking into it. Morning sickness was still plaguing the poor pregnant mama.

“Dory is pregnant. I have no clue who mated with him, but it wasn’t me. We need to figure out who got him pregnant. They need to take responsibility for taking care of the baby.” Marlin was fuming. He walked towards the bathroom to make sure that Dory was alright. He rubbed his buddy’s back. He felt bad for him.

“Odd, who would have done that? The whole colony knows that he has memory problems…” Creek walked over to Branch and rubbed her back as she got sick.

Dory finished getting sick and flushed the toilet. He washed his hands and rinsed out his mouth. “Yuck, I hate being sick.”

“I’m going to kick that troll’s ass.” Branch looked angry. She sat the trashcan down and went to wash her hands. “No one messes with my family.”

“Well, I have my suspicions, but until the baby is born, we might not know who did it. Is it alright if we all move back in here again, please? I don’t want anyone hurting my son.” Marlin went to make mint tea for Dory and Branch.

“Of course.” Creek didn’t hesitate. He wanted them all safe. “You three are always welcome here.” He hoped they would find the father of Dory’s baby soon. Mating someone who had memory problems and an obvious brain injury of some kind was not OK. He was right there in Branch’s train of thought. He wanted to kick that troll’s ass too.


	12. Scared Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An accident with one of the trollings scares all the parents.

A month and a half later, the boys were outside playing. It was cold outside, but that didn’t stop them from going outside and playing.

“I can get to the top of the troll tree before you can, Basil.” Sapphire challenged his older brother. He was in a mood. He wanted to race Basil, and he knew he would give him a good challenge.

“Challenge accepted.” Basil smirked and bolted towards the troll tree. He began making his way up. He had a determined look on his face.

Sapphire ran over to the tree and began making his way up. He kept looking over at Basil. He had a huge grin on his face. For half the tree, he had the lead, but he was losing stamina. He began slowing down, and eventually Basil caught up. He pushed himself and went faster. He was determined to beat him to the top. He was almost there, when he lost grip of the bark and began falling down the tree. He screamed in fear as he hit ever branch on the way down the tree. He landed with a loud thud and passed out.

“Sapphire!” Victory ran over and screamed, seeing that he had broke several bones. “Help!!!” He started to cry, thinking he would die like Lilac had. 

Sassafras made his way down the tree. He got to the boys and frowned. “Shit…” He looked up at DJ Suki, who had followed him down the tree. “Get his parents.” He looked at Victory. “Go get Dr. Saza. Tell him we might have a broken back.” He made sure to stay close to Sapphire. He didn’t want anyone to touch him.

DJ Suki ran towards the bunker to get Sapphire’s parents.

Basil was sobbing as he made his way down the tree. He was stopped by Biggie before he reached Sapphire. “Sapphire!”

“You can’t touch him right now Basil. He’s hurt bad…” Biggie held the upset trolling.

Victory ran to get Dr. Saza. He was sobbing upset. He got to the medical pod and pointed towards Basil’s screams. “Sapphire is hurt! His back might be broken!” He was worried about his quad.

Dr. Saza grabbed a straight board and rushed towards Basil’s wails. He saw Sapphire. He put the board down beside him and gently flattened him out. He looked up when Gold and Emerald came running over. “Help me roll him. Keep his back straight. On the count of three. One, two, three.” He helped rolling Sapphire. “Hold him there.” He felt Sapphire’s back. He found a break in his back. He looked worried. He pulled the board under the nine-year-old trolling. “Roll him slowly to his back. That’s it.” He helped them roll him onto his back. He got him strapped onto the board, so he didn’t move around. “Let’s lift him up slowly.” He picked him up with the help of Gold and Emerald. All three of them rushed towards the medical pod with the severely injured trolling. Once there, he headed for the back room. He wanted to try and fix his back first, and then his other broken bones. It was clear that he had several. All four limbs were bent in an odd manner, and he had a gash on his head, which meant his skull was likely fractured too. “Tell them that he is alive. I’m going to work on his back first. It appears to be the worst. I might need blood. Get anyone who is willing to donate to come here.” He cleaned his hands and got to work on young Sapphire.

Branch, Creek, and Guy Diamond arrived at the medical pod. They could see a small trail of blood leading to the back room from Sapphire’s head gash.

“Oh god, my baby!” Branch was shaking upset. She hugged into Creek and sobbed. She was worried she was going to lose another child.

Creek held Branch and rubbed her back. He looked worried.

Guy Diamond sniffled and rubbed his face of tears. His oldest living son was in grave danger of losing his life.

Gold explained what was going on to the three worried parents. He turned to Emerald and frowned. “Get trolls who are willing to donate blood.”

“Of course.” Emerald hurried out the door and began asking around.

Basil came in and clung to his parents. “I didn’t mean to! It sounded like fun! He wanted to race up the tree…”

Branch held Basil and ran her hand through his two-toned hair. “It was an accident…” She reassured her worried son. She bit her bottom lip, feeling a contraction. She was just barely over five months along. She grabbed Creek’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Oh my god…” She began to shake. She was terrified that that was the first contraction of premature labor.

“Oh god, let’s get you laying down mama.” Creek helped her into a bed and held her hand. Tears ran down his cheeks as he watched her. He was really worried that they would lose her baby too.

Guy Diamond walked over. He sat down and wiped his face of tears.

Gold helped Branch get comfortable. He hoped she wasn’t having the baby, but her facial expression told him that her baby was coming.

Sassafras, DJ Suki, Biggie, Poppy, Marlin, and Sable all volunteered to give blood. 

Gold pulled blood from each of them. Once he had enough, he got up. “If I’m needed knock on the door. I’m going to help.” He went back to help Dr. Saza with Sapphire.

It was a very long three hours of mostly silence. There was a lot of moving in and out of the medical pod, but Gold and Dr. Saza remained in the back. The silence was broken when Branch let out a sob.

“I feel pressure!” Branch squeezed Guy Diamond’s hand tightly and breathed hard. “Get Gold!” She widened her eyes, feeling the baby emerge. She reached down and picked up the premature baby.

Creek got to his feet and began cleaning the baby up. His eyes were wide. “Oh god, he’s so little.” He was so worried. This little one was light teal like Branch, with white hair. He was struggling to breathe.

Peridot hurried over to the back door and knocked. “My brother was born!”

Gold hurried out and ran over to Branch’s side. He took the premature baby and set him down on a bed. He began clearing his airway and patted his little bottom. He sighed in relief when the little one began to cry softly. He put a diaper on him and wrapped him up. “He’s early, but I think he’s going to be alright. I want him to stay here for a week or so to make sure he eats and breathes alright.” He helped the baby set up to nurse and watched him suckle weakly. “Good boy…”

Branch was shaking. She looked at her baby and watched him nurse. “I’m going to name you Patience, because I pretty much had none while pregnant with you. I think you stole it…” She looked up at her mates and sniffled. “I love you both so much…” She was so worried about Sapphire. “How is my Sapphire?”

“He’s battered and bruised, but I think he will make it. Time will tell. He might never walk again though…” Gold frowned. “His back was badly broken…” He sighed and looked towards the back room. “He’s got several broken bones too. He’s going to need help for a long time while he recovers.”

“Poor little guy.” Creek sniffled and rubbed his face of tears. “I hope he doesn’t lose the ability to walk…”

“If he does, we’ll make it work.” Guy Diamond looked determined. He was grateful that his sons had lived. Beyond that, they would adjust. All their babies were tough and had a strong will to live.

“Our boy will walk again, even if we have to make adjustments on how he will do it. He’s a tough kid. We’ll get him through this.” Branch sniffled and cradled her newborn son. She was worried but trying to be optimistic for her son. He needed all the strength he could get right now.


	13. Spinal Cord Injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapphire must adjust to life with a spinal cord injury.

The next day, Sapphire finally began to come to. He had been in a small coma, due to his head injury, but the coma didn’t last long. He cracked his eyes open and began to cry. He was in gobs amount of pain.

Branch got up and walked over to him. She gently cupped his cheek and smiled softly. “I know you’re in pain buddy. I’m so sorry. I’m glad you survived. You had a very nasty fall yesterday afternoon.”

“My arms and head hurt.” Sapphire frowned, realizing he couldn’t feel anything from his belly button down. “I can’t feel my legs…” Tears ran down his cheeks. He was so scared.

Branch burst into tears. She was afraid of that. She sniffled and caressed his cheek. “I’m so sorry son. You broke several bones, including your limbs, skull, and back. We’ll make it through this as a family. It’s going to be alright.” She looked over when Patience began to cry. She walked over and picked him up. She walked over and showed Sapphire, his little brother. “I had your brother yesterday. His name is Patience.” She set Patience up to nurse. She looked very worried. Both of them still had a long road ahead of them.

“I’m scared…” Sapphire looked at his brother and sniffled. “Patience? But mom, you had none while pregnant with him…” He winced when he tried to adjust. He was hurting so bad.

“I know I didn’t.” Branch sighed and looked at him. “I’m going to take good care of you son. I love you.”

“I love you too mama.” Sapphire groaned and gagged. Pain had him feeling nauseous, although at that moment he had nothing in his stomach.

Branch grabbed a trashcan with one hand and held Patience with her other arm. She cringed as Sapphire heaved up a little bit of stomach acid.

Gold walked over and cleaned Sapphire’s mouth. Once his was cleaned up, he took care of a make-shift diaper, since Sapphire had lost control of that part of his body too. He could smell that Sapphire had peed.

Sapphire hollered in pain as he was shifted in the bed. He widened his eyes, seeing Gold take care of a dirty cloth that had been between his legs. “I’m wearing a diaper?!”

“It might be temporary son. You might be able to gain control later. You broke your back, which caused a spinal cord injury. You’ve lost nerve control from you belly button down…” Branch’s heart broke. She knew how independent Sapphire was. She hated that he was hurt so badly and that he was going to have to be dependent for a while.

“I don’t want to wear it!” Sapphire burst into tears and cried. He was a big boy. He didn’t need diapers anymore.

“I understand Sapphire, but you’ll make a mess on the bed if you don’t have something under you.” Gold got him set up and covered him up. He sat him up in the bed and offered him water and medicine for nausea and pain.

Sapphire took the pills and drank a few gulps, and then took aim towards Gold and nailed him on the chest with a mouth full of water. “I don’t want a diaper!”

“Sapphire, calm down please.” Branch gently put Patience down in his cradle. She walked back over and frowned. “I’m sorry Gold. Not sure where he got his temper…”

“I think I know where.” Gold chuckled. He dried his chest off and set the water down. “Good to see he has some fight left in him.” He went to rinse the soiled cloth and threw it into the laundry pile to be washed when there was a bigger load.

“Not fair!” Sapphire glared at them. He was embarrassed and ashamed. He hadn’t needed diapers since he was two.

Basil came in and walked over to Sapphire. He was glad to hear his voice. “You woke up…”

“He just woke up a little while ago. He’s mad Basil. Watch out, he’s spitting water.” Branch warned him, knowing that the two were like oil and water at times. She had a feeling they would either be a better team after this, or really be at each other’s throats.

 

Sapphire dropped the diaper issue. He did not want to talk about it in front of his older brother. He licked his lips and looked at the water. “I’m still thirsty.”

Gold gave him more water. He had a feeling Sapphire might nail Basil next with a mouth full of the ice cold water.

Basil gently gave his brother a snuggle. He was mindful of his casts. Tears filled his eyes. “This was all my fault. I’m sorry little brother.”

Branch smiled softly. She backed off so they could talk. She was glad Basil apologized, even though this wasn’t his fault.

Sapphire let the straw go and swallowed the water. “It wasn’t your fault Basil. The tree wanted to get revenge for me peeing on it a week ago. I wish it wasn’t so mean about it.”

Gold snorted and tried not to laugh.

Basil smiled softly. He felt Sapphire’s face and could feel that he was smiling. He relaxed a little. “Yeah, I don’t think the troll tree liked that. We better stop doing it.”

“Yeah, don’t want you getting hurt too.” Sapphire closed his eyes and groaned. “I hurt all over…”

Branch watched and listened to the boys chat. She was glad that Sapphire appeared to be OK and was going to make it. She hoped with time he would regain feeling in his legs. He seemed to have the determination for it.


	14. Just Keep Singing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapphire has a small break down.

Two weeks had gone by since Sapphire had fallen from the troll tree and broke his back and several other bones. He had had his ups and downs the last two weeks, but the biggest thing that bothered him, is he couldn’t feel urges to eliminate. He did not like the diaper. He had a glazed look on his face when Dory came into the medical pod for a checkup. He had put himself in a shadowy place. He was trying not to think of the problems he was facing.

“Gold? I’ve got something weird going on with my belly. I keep feeling this weird movement inside of it.” Dory knew at this point that he was pregnant, but he kept forgetting how far along he was. At three and a half months along, he was feeling lots of kicks and wriggles.

Gold chuckled and walked over to Dory. “It’s your baby kicking. It’s OK Dory.” He put his hand on Dory’s belly and smiled when he felt the kicks. “He sure is active.” This was the third time today that he had been in the medical pod over feeling the kicks. He was patient and more then happy to repeat himself.

“Oh! I didn’t realize I was that far along.” Dory smiled and put his hand on his belly.

Sapphire smelled excrement. He cringed and started to cry. “I hate this. Why can’t I feel it coming so I can have a bed pan or something?!” They had tried the bed pan, but he was always wrong about when he had to go. He was so frustrated.

Gold got set up to clean Sapphire up. “We’ll get this figured out Sapphire. Your injuries are still fresh. We’ll figure out a plan, so you don’t have to deal with this forever.” He set to work on cleaning Sapphire up.

Dory walked over and held Sapphire’s hand as he was cleaned up. “Don’t cry. There is no reason to cry.”

“I can’t feel anything from my belly button down Dory. I have every reason to cry. It’s not fair!” Sapphire sobbed as he was rolled back and forth. He was still in a considerable amount of pain. He didn’t like this one bit.

“You know when life gets me down, I’ll tell you what I do.” Dory grinned at him and squeezed Sapphire’s hand lightly. “I just keep singing, just keep singing. What do we do? We sing, sing, sing!” He had a huge grin on his face. “I want to sing!”

Sapphire glared at him. “Please stop. That’s going to get stuck in my head and it won’t get back out.”

Dory shifted song. It was one his fathers sang to him when he was little. He was determined to get a smile on Sapphire’s face.

Gold got Sapphire taken care of, and then settled him on his side for a little bit. “Dory is a great friend, isn’t he Sapphire?”

“Yeah, Dory is a wonderful friend.” Sapphire slowly calmed down and held hands with Dory. He couldn’t get too annoyed with him. He was trying to make him feel better. “I want to have my independence back.”

“You’re only a kid though. You still need help. It’ll be alright.” Dory could see that Sapphire was hurt, but it hadn’t stuck to his long term yet why he was in a bed covered in casts, and a back brace. He just knew the poor kid was hurting and sad.

“I want to get up and play with my brothers.” Sapphire sighed and looked into Dory’s eyes. “Dory? Why can’t you remember stuff?”

“I have short term memory loss.” Dory smiled at him. “But it’s OK. I keep going on. It’s what I do.”

“How did it happen?” Sapphire was curious.

“I was attacked by a predator when I was two. My dads were able to save me, but I had brain damage. I almost didn’t survive it. It damaged the part of my brain that retains short term memory. Thankfully I still have my long term. I remember pretty much everything that happened a couple of months after it happens, if it’s important to me that is.” Dory looked at his belly. “I can’t remember how I got pregnant. It’s weird.”

“It’s OK Dory. We will help you with the baby. Don’t worry.” Gold reassured him. He didn’t want Dory to be sad.

“So, your kind of like Lilac, but you lived.” Sapphire gently squeezed Dory’s hand. He sighed and sniffled. “I love you, big brother.” All of the boys had adopted Dory as an older brother. They all loved him.

“I love you too Sapphire.” Dory smiled and put his hand on his belly. “These movements are so weird.”

“Your baby says hi Dory.” Gold smiled and watched the two interact. He hoped the best for Sapphire. Having a large family seemed to help him for support. He hoped his future would be good, even if he may never walk again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song Dory sings. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song writer and artist.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs&list=WL&index=12&t=0s


	15. Restless Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch’s large family has a restless night.

A week later, Guy Diamond was settling down to dinner. He had been having contractions for about an hour but was trying not to ruin the night. It was Smidge’s twenty fifth birthday. He didn’t touch his dinner and kept his hand on his swollen belly. He squirmed a bit, and then picked up the plate. “I’m going to go check on Sapphire.” He got up and squealed when their little silver baby glitter worm, Gem, got under his feet. He stumbled and fell flat on his back. He let out a loud holler of pain. He startled when the plate crashed down on the floor right next to him. He was in the middle of a contraction when he fell.

Gem crawled out of the way and looked at Guy Diamond with wide glittery eyes. She hadn’t meant to trip him. She had become very attached to Guy Diamond and could sense that he was in pain.

Jewel, the little blue glitter worm, come crawling over and snuggled into Guy Diamond. She looked worried.

Branch hurried over to Guy Diamond and checked him for injuries. “What hurts?!”

“I’m having a contraction…” Guy Diamond finally admitted. He was fine, other then he felt he might bruise.

Smidge smirked and helped Guy Diamond to his feet. “Aww, the twins will share my birthday.”

Branch picked up Guy Diamond once he was on his feet and hurried towards the medical pod. She was worried. A fall like that could be bad for the babies. She wanted to make sure he was alright, and that the babies were alright too. She got into the medical pod and sat Guy Diamond down in a bed. “He fell onto his back.”

Sky, Stream, Paprika, and Creek had all followed. They looked worried.

Marlin, Dory, Poppy, Smidge, and Jadice stayed at the bunker to watch all the kids.

Dr. Saza walked over and checked Guy Diamond over. He checked his progress and got ready deliver the twins. “It won’t be much longer Guy. Deep breaths. The babies should be OK if you fell on you back, but I’ll make sure that they didn’t have any damages when they’re born.”

Sapphire looked over and frowned. “Is dad OK?”

Branch walked over and took Sapphire’s hand. “Dad is alright sweetie. Gem tripped him up, and he fell down. We’re here to make sure the babies are OK.” 

“Barley has competition with falling over.” Paprika smiled softly and put his hand on his swollen belly. He wondered how his friend was doing. He hadn’t seen much of him the last few weeks. Barley seemed to be very busy.

“Guy Diamond is Crash two point oh.” Sky teased gently. He grimaced, feeling his own contraction. “Oh…” He bit his bottom lip and leaned on a bed. “Is it a full moon tonight?”

“Are you in labor too? Oh boy…” Creek sighed and sat down by Guy Diamond. He wasn’t in labor, but it looked like Sky was.

“Three babies to share birthdays with Smidge. Poor kids.” Guy Diamond smiled softly. He hollered in pain as the first twin began to emerge. He got him out and looked up at the baby. He was lavender glitter with white hair. He began to cry as Dr. Saza cleaned him up.

“He’s just fine. No damage done.” Dr. Saza gently gave the baby to Branch and watched for the second twin. “You’re doing a good job.”

Branch walked over to Sapphire and showed him his little brother. “Your daddy did a good job. He’s beautiful.”

Sky crawled into a bed and laid on his side. He watched his brother in law and groaned.

Stream took Sky’s hand and held it. He looked worried. He smiled at Paprika when he took Sky’s other hand.

Creek looked at his son and smiled. “He’s so cute Guy.”

Guy Diamond smiled and watched his baby. He was glad he was alright. “I was thinking of calling him Orchid.” He grasped the sides of the bed and hollered out in pain as the second baby emerged. This one was silver glitter with two-toned capri blue and white hair. He cried as Dr. Saza cleaned him up. “Oh, that one is so pretty. How about staying with a flower name and naming him Cosmos?”

“I love those names Guy…” Branch walked over and smiled at the newborn.

“He’s alright too. Try to be careful. A fall on the belly could have been deadly. You’re very lucky.” Dr. Saza gently gave the baby to Guy Diamond, and then walked over to Sky and checked his progress. “You’re doing good Sky, but the baby is not ready yet.” He set a blanket down and went to help put diapers on the twins.

“Oh! I feel pressure! Get the bed pan!” Sapphire was all excited.

Branch gently handed Orchid over to Dr. Saza and helped get a bed pan under Sapphire. She smiled, hearing him pee into it. “There we go…” She looked so relieved. She hoped he could feel that with poop soon too. She wanted him to have as much independence as possible.

Sapphire was crying happy tears. He hoped soon he wouldn’t need to have anything between his legs. Even if he couldn’t walk, this made it, so he didn’t have to deal with diapers. He still couldn’t feel his legs, but he had been feeling very slight amounts of pressure the last few days right before he smelled pee. This was the first time he had caught it in time. He was shaking with excitement.

“Good job son.” Creek walked over and ran his hand through his glittery royal blue hair. “I knew you could do it.”

Guy Diamond smiled and helped his twins nurse once Dr. Saza gave them to him. He was very proud of his boys. Sapphire was proving he was going to get through this, one way or another.

Branch got Sapphire cleaned up and sat him up in the bed so he could see what was going on. She kissed his forehead and smiled at him. “We have cake and ice cream at home. Do you want me to get you some?”

“Is this a question?” Sapphire smirked. He loved cake and ice cream. “Of course, I wants some!” He licked his lips. He loved sweets. “Please?”

“Coming right up my sweet boy. You can hold Patience while I go get it.” Branch gently sat her three-week-old son on Sapphire’s chest. She put pillows around him so he wouldn’t roll off. She left to go get cake and ice cream for Sapphire.

Creek stood by Sapphire to make sure Patience didn’t roll off him. He rubbed Patience back and chuckled when Patience let out a soft cry. “It’s alright, buddy. Mama is going to be right back. She doesn’t want you to get cold.”

Sapphire smiled wide. He couldn’t hold Patience in his arms because of his casts, but he was glad his mama let him snuggle with his baby brother. It made him feel good.

Branch soon returned and set the cake and ice cream down. She set Patience up to feed, and then one handedly began feeding Sapphire the cake.

“Branch sure knows how to multitask.” Paprika smiled. He wasn’t surprised. She was a busy mama.

“With thirteen kids, can you blame her?” Stream smiled softly. He was nervous for Sky. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

“Almost there, Sky. I see hair.” Dr. Saza got a blanket ready.

Sky hollered in pain as his own son was born. He looked up, curious about his coloration. He was red with pink hair. He began letting out cries. “Paprika’s baby…” He smiled at his mates and breathed hard. “How about Saffron?”

“Sounds good.” Paprika reached down and kissed him. “I love you so much.”

Stream watched their son cry. He kissed Sky and grinned. “Saffron is perfect. I love you Sky…”

Dr. Saza gave the baby to Sky and helped him get him nursing. He moved aside and put his hand on his chest. He didn’t feel good all the sudden. “Get Gold. Someone..? Please…” The sixty-five-year-old troll suddenly collapsed to the floor. He was suffering a massive heart attack. He suddenly stopped breathing and died right there on the medical pod floor. 

Branch’s eyes went wide. She bolted out of the medical pod and ran to get Gold. 

Creek laid Dr. Saza down flat and checked for a pulse. He didn’t find one. He had a grim look on his face as he covered him up with a sheet. “Oh my god…” It happened so quickly and suddenly. He began to cry. Dr. Saza had saved so many lives, including Victory and Sapphire’s. None of them even got to tell him that they loved him or tell him good bye.

“Is he dead?” Sapphire’s heart raced. He had shared stories with the old doctor for the last three weeks. He had become close to him in the time he had been in the medical pod. Tears began to flow down his cheeks. He was very worried.

Guy Diamond looked down at his twins and cried quietly. “It appears so son…”

Sky sniffled and looked at his son. The last thing Marigold did while alive was deliver his son and set him up to have his first milk. He was devastated.

Branch returned with Gold. She put her face into her hands and began to sob. She could see that he wasn’t breathing, and that someone had covered him up.

Gold checked for a pulse and didn’t find one. He gently picked the old troll up and took him to towards his home. He was the only fulltime doctor now, which was scary. He already planned on getting some assistance. He had to. Emerald wasn’t ready yet.

A few hours later, everyone gathered for a funeral. They stood together and hung their heads as they prayed for the old doctor. He had saved so many and died doing what he loved. They hoped he was at peace. They all sang, hoping that his memory would live on forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song that everyone sang at the end. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song writer and artist.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tu-IGnL10c


	16. Not The Same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Troll village copes without the old doctor.

The next week had been difficult for the whole colony. It wasn’t until his death that anyone understood just how much Dr. Saza did and how much he helped the colony. Gold had been running most of the operation in the medical pod since his death and was starting to become exhausted. He had help, but no one had as much training as he had. It didn’t help that Sapphire would get very upset when he left. Unfortunately, Sapphire was not well enough to go home, which made things that much harder for Gold. He took a step outside for fresh air and was approached by Carrot.

Carrot smiled at Gold as he approached him. “I don’t have as much training as you do, but I can help out as much as I can. I’m certainly willing to learn.” He volunteered to become Gold’s partner. He knew he had a lot of training to do, but the twenty-five-year-old was up to the task. “I’ve delivered a few babies. I can stitch wounds and other first aid. I’m teachable. You really need a break…” 

“Can you handle a paralyzed and heartbroken nine-year-old? He doesn’t want anyone in the pod with him but me. He sobs when I leave…” Gold looked worried.

“I’ll talk to him. He’s just scared. I heard that Dr. Saza died in the medical pod in front of several trolls, including Sapphire. I don’t blame him for being frightened one bit. Especially considering all that he and his family had been through.” Carrot looked confident. He certainly wanted to try.

“OK Carrot, but if you need help, please come get me.” Gold quickly explained how to take care of Sapphire, warned him that the poor little fella acted like he was getting sick, and then headed home for a long nap. He was so ready for some sleep.

Carrot walked into the medical pod and smiled at Sapphire. “Hey kiddo, how are you holding up?”

“Stiff and sore.” Sapphire looked at the door. “Is Gold coming back in? I need to go to the bathroom.”

“I got it kiddo.” Carrot did what Gold instructed him to do. He got the pan under him and rolled him to his back. He blinked and cocked his head when he saw that Sapphire looked livid. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t give you permission to help me potty.” Sapphire fused his brows and startled, when a gush of diarrhea pushed through. He whimpered and gagged. He was coming down with a virus. It was part of what had him so cranky and clingy.

Carrot grabbed a trashcan and held it under Sapphire’s chin as he got sick. He took care of the trashcan and then cleaned up his face. Once he was clean, he took care of Sapphire’s hind end. He sat him up after that and gave him some water. “Sorry you’re sick.”

Sapphire groaned and closed his eyes. Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I want mama…”

Carrot set up an herb cocktail that his fathers had taught him about. It helped with diarrhea and fever. It would also help Sapphire sleep the virus away. He gave it to Sapphire, and then laid him on his side just in case he puked again. “I can go get her. Hold on.” He made sure Sapphire was all set, and then hurried out of the medical pod and towards the bunker. He didn’t make it far. Branch was on her way there with Creek and Guy Diamond. Creek was in labor. “Sapphire wants you Branch.”

“I’m coming.” Branch had a hold of Creek’s hand. She helped him get into a medical pod bed when they got there. She let Creek’s hand go and walked over to Sapphire. “What’s wrong?”

“Gold left…” Sapphire pouted. He reached his casted arm up and rubbed his eyes of tears.

“He’s tired sweetie.” Branch ran her hand through his royal blue hair.

Carrot grabbed a blanket and then gently removed Creek’s pants. He saw that the baby was already starting to emerge. “The baby is right here Creek.”

Creek breathed hard and grasped Guy Diamond’s hand as he pushed out a light lavender boy with two toned capri blue and sky-blue hair. He cried as Carrot cleaned him. “Oh my god, he didn’t give me much time. He came so fast.”

Guy Diamond grinned and looked at the newborn. “He’s so cute.”

Branch walked over and smiled at the newborn. “That was fast. Good job Creek.” She kissed him and ran her hand through his hair. “I love you so much.”

Sapphire sniffled and listened to his newborn brother cry. He began to doze off. He was so tired.

“I love you both too. So very much. I want to name him Iris.” Creek was tired. He closed his eyes and breathed hard. He smiled when Carrot helped him get the baby latched on to feed.

Sky came in with Stream in his arms. He set Stream down and held his hand. “Stream and Paprika are in labor too.” 

Paprika was right behind him. He settled down in a bed and hollered in pain. He was tense, recalling Ruby’s birth.

Stream breathed and looked up when Carrot walked over. “Where is Gold?”

“He’s taking a nap.” Carrot got a blanket ready at their beds. He checked to see if the babies were ready, but they were both not ready yet. “Don’t worry, I’ve delivered babies before. Someone had to take over after our doctor went nuts…” He could tell that Stream was worried.

“You had to mention him…” Branch glared at Carrot. She didn’t even want Tourmaline mentioned. She still had nightmares about that crazy troll. Her two weeks of capture with him had changed her life forever. In her eyes, the only good thing that came out of all that was Peridot.

“Carrot makes a good nurse. He never finished his training though. I hope everything goes smoothly.” Paprika cringed in pain.

“I’ll get Gold if anything bad goes down.” Carrot reassured. He wanted to help so badly.

About an hour later, Stream gave birth to a periwinkle boy with royal blue and green two-toned hair. The baby cried as Carrot cleaned him up. 

“Good job Stream.” Sky kissed him and smiled. It was clear this boy was his baby. “I love you.”

Carrot got him clean, and then gently gave him to his daddy.

“I love you too. Can I name him Licorice?” Stream held his son and set him up to nurse.

“I like it.” Sky kissed him, and then went to hold Paprika’s hand.

“He’s coming!!!” Paprika whimpered in pain as his son was born. He was red with green hair. “He looks like a chili pepper. Let’s name him Pepper?” He breathed hard and smiled when his son began to cry.

“Looks like a Stream baby. I like Pepper.” Sky smiled when Stream nodded. He looked at Carrot. “Looks like you handled tonight well. I’m sure Gold appreciates the nap.”

“I’m happy to help. It’s not the same without Dr. Saza, but I’m going to try and be the best medical assistant ever.” Carrot washed his hands and sat down for a little break. It was no wonder Gold was so tired. It had been a busy afternoon. It gave him more respect for what Dr. Saza use to do. It certainly was not the same without him.


	17. Little Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River and Peridot got to check on Sapphire.

A couple of weeks had gone by since Carrot volunteered to join the medical pod team. In that time frame, several others had volunteered to help out, and there was now a much larger team to help out. They were not doctors. They were not trained enough, but they did make fine nurses. Gold remained on constant standby just in case of major emergencies.

It was in the middle of the night, when Peridot startled awake. He was snuggled up with River that night. He hadn’t slept a night without one of his brothers snuggled up to him since the day Lilac died. He felt insecure if he didn’t have someone next to him. He started to cry and rubbed his eyes. He had dreamt that Sapphire had died. He was shaking scared.

River woke up and looked at his slightly younger brother. “What’s wrong?” He sat up and rubbed his back.

“I had a nightmare. I have to go check on Sapphire…” He got up and put on a coat and pants. It was very cold outside. He was going to be turning six in just a few more weeks and was old enough to know if he didn’t wear clothes outside during winter, not only would he earn time in the corner, but he would lose treat privileges for a week. Wearing clothes sucked, but it had to happen. He loved his cookies. He finished getting dressed and tucked little Jewel in his hair. Jewel had ended up becoming his pet. He loved her so much.

River got up and yawned as he put on clothes. “I’ll come with you.” He rubbed his eyes and then put a book into his hair. He wrote a note that they went to the medical pod for their parents, so they knew where they went. He set it on the table. Once they were ready, he held hands with Peridot and headed to the door with him. He opened to door and closed it behind them. He headed for the medical pod with Peridot. Once there, he walked in and smiled at Sapphire. “We came to visit.”

Sapphire looked over at his brothers and smiled. “You two are going to be in trouble.” He shifted and rolled onto his side. His arms were still in casts, but they were coming off in the morning. He was eager to get the bulky things off his arms. He had never regained feeling in his legs but had managed to relearn continence control. He had only had a few accidents the last week. It was way better then having to wear a diaper all the time. He didn’t like that he would never walk again, but Guy Diamond had reassured that this wasn’t going to be a problem, and that he was making something so that Sapphire could still get around. He wondered what his daddy was going to do. Getting around wasn’t going to be easy with floppy legs.

Peridot let out a sob and hurried over to him. He climbed into the bed and snuggled into him. “I dreamt that you died!” He buried his face into Sapphire’s chest. “I don’t want you to die…”

“He’s alright Peridot. I was keeping him company.” Basil came out of the bathroom. He had toilet paper trailing on his foot. He plopped down in a chair and stretched out. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“You kids are going to give your parents a heart attack. It’s two a clock in the morning.” Quill had taken over for the night, with promise that he would get Gold if anything disastrous happened.

“I left a note on the table for mom.” River walked over and sat by Basil. He pulled out his book and began to read.

“I’m not going to die Peridot. I’ve got a bad back, but I’m going to survive that. I’ll die of old age. I’m not going to go anywhere.” Sapphire snuggled awkwardly because of the casts. “Don’t cry little brother. Be brave, like River.”

“I’m not brave.” River glanced up and frowned. He didn’t feel like he was brave at all. He was just really good at suppressing his feelings. There had been more then once during all this yuck that he had cried in the corner in the library. He didn’t like crying in front of anyone.

“I’m scared that I’m going to lose all my brothers like I lost Lilac.” Peridot coughed and sniffled. He rubbed his face of tears and snot with the sleeve of his coat. He looked up into Sapphire’s baby blue eyes with scared heterochromia pink and baby blue eyes.

Basil frowned. “Aw, Peridot. It’s going to be alright.” He got up and went to rub his little brother’s back. “We’re too tough to die, right Sapphire?”

“That’s right. We are tough as dry beans like mama.” Sapphire grinned. “Dory taught me when life gets rough, you just got to keep on climbing. Keep moving on. Try to be happy little brother. Lilac would want you to be happy.”

Peridot sniffled and nodded. He got off the bed and bolted for the bathroom. He needed to go eliminate.

River watched his brother run for the bathroom. He set the book down and looked at Sapphire. “I miss having you at home.”

“I agree with River. I miss you too.” Basil wanted Sapphire to come home.

“Gold says so long as my arms do well out of the casts, I might be able to go home later this morning.” Sapphire grinned. He looked forward to getting back to his old routine. He missed chasing his brothers around and their daily wrestling matches. He wanted to go back to being the playful boy that he was.

Peridot finished and came out. He rubbed his eyes and crawled back into the bed with Sapphire. He snuggled close and passed out. He was exhausted.

Jewel crawled out of Peridot’s hair and snuggled close to Sapphire. She was glad to see that the little light teal glitter trolling was doing alright. She hadn’t seen him in a long time.

“I’ll take River home. I don’t think Peridot wants to leave you. Get some sleep brother.” Basil got up and picked River up. He smiled, feeling River rest his head on his shoulder. “That’s my River.” He headed for the door and towards home. He didn’t blame his little brothers for wanting to check on Sapphire. The last six weeks since his fall had been very scary.


	18. They Call Him Wheels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midwinter’s day comes, and there are several birthdays to celebrate.

Three weeks went by in a flash. Sapphire had been home and was carried around most of the time. The rest of the time, he rolled or dragged himself around. Guy Diamond told him that he wasn’t done with his mobile device yet, but today, Guy Diamond had finished it. After a lot of trial, error, and modifications, Guy Diamond had made his son a wheelchair. It was early morning, right after breakfast, when he got it into the living space and sat Sapphire down in the seat.

Sapphire looked at the wheelchair, and then up at his dad. He had never seen one before. “You gave me a chair with wheels?”

“It’s called a wheelchair Sapphire. The instructions on how to make it were old, and I had to modify it a little bit since you’re still young. You need to use your arms to make it move. You see this long round bar around the side of the wheels? You hold onto it and propel the wheelchair with it. Like this.” Guy Diamond took his son’s hands into his hands and had him propel the wheelchair forward.

Sapphire looked around as the chair moved forward. He squealed with delight and began moving forward with it. He had no idea how to stop or turn, yet. He tried to but ended up running into the couch. He slid off the wheelchair and shrieked in shock and anxiety. He didn’t like falling down.

Guy Diamond noticed too late that he was about to hit the couch. He hurried over and picked up his son. He put him back into the wheelchair. “It’s alright. It’s going to take practice. Let’s try again. I’ll teach you how to turn and stop.”

For the next two hours, Guy Diamond taught his son how to use his wheelchair. By the time the lesson was over, Sapphire was moving around the bunker without assistance. The nine-year-old was very excited that he was able to move around without having to be carried around. He felt like he was even faster now, then when he was on his own two feet, which to him was super cool.

Creek came into the bunker with a cake. Today was Branch, Sky, and Peridot’s birthdays. It was also Kelvin, Periwinkle, Parsley, and Chamomile’s birthdays. The plan was to celebrate all seven birthdays in the bunker. It was also a celebration of life, since it would have been Lilac’s sixth birthday.

Prairie showed up at the bunker and walked towards the library. He wasn’t interested in the party, but this was a rare chance for him to go through the books in Branch’s library. He rarely got invited over, because he refused to make friends. He was very quiet and a loner, even though he was only just shy of ten years old. Branch also didn’t trust him. He acted way too much like his father, King Aspen.

River looked over when Prairie came into the library. He frowned and closed his book. He left and went to see if Peridot was awake. He didn’t want to be with Prairie. That trolling gave him weird vibes. He got to Peridot’s room and sat on the bed. He opened his book back up and began to read again.

Poppy wasn’t far behind his little brother. He had little Oracle in his arms. He walked over to the playpen and set him down next to two-month-old Patience. “Aww, sweet babies.” He cooed and tickled Patience gently.

Patience looked up at him and scrunched up his little green nose. He fussed and began to cry. Someone other then mama or daddies touched him. How dare?!

“Aww, it’s alright sweetheart.” DJ Suki walked over and picked Patience up. “No reason to get all upset. Wow you’re getting so big.” He put a pacifier in his mouth and cradled him.

“Look at all these babies.” Sassafras walked over to the playpen and looked down at the babies. There were currently seven of them in there. All of them were snuggled close and tiny. “Poor Branch is probably going nuts.”

“We hardly sleep these days.” Branch came in and went to tend to Patience. She spent more of the last two months helping with the babies and Sapphire. She was very tired.

“There’s the birthday mama.” Smidge walked over and gave Branch a hug. “You could always ask for a babysitter you know?”

“Don’t tempt me. You’ll get seven babies.” Branch loved all of them, but their hands were full, with seven babies under the age of three months. Dory was going to add to that soon as well. She had a feeling he was going to be a good daddy, but he was going to need help. She looked around, realizing she hadn’t seen Dory all morning. He was always up and enjoying breakfast. She walked towards his room to go check on him. She knocked on the door, and then peeked in.

Dory was curled up in bed. He had been in pain all morning, and thought he had a really bad stomach ache. He looked up when Branch knocked on the door. “I don’t feel good…”

Branch tucked Patience into her hair and fixed him so he wouldn’t fall out. “What’s wrong Dory?”

“I think I ate something that doesn’t agree with me. Feels like cramps.” Dory frowned and cringed, during a contraction.

Branch’s heart raced. She uncovered him slowly. She didn’t want to scare him. She saw a small amount of blood near his hind-end. “You’re having your baby Dory. It’s alright.” Branch checked to see how far along he was. She had a feeling Dory wasn’t going to make it to the medical pod. She ran to get a blanket. She knew she at least had enough time for that. “Marlin! It’s time!” She got back to Dory’s room and waited for the baby to emerge.

Marlin hurried into the room and frowned. “Dory? You didn’t come and get anyone…?”

Dory looked scared. “I’m dying!” He was feeling pressure and was so confused. He tried to get up, so he could go to the bathroom. “I need to go poop! I don’t want to do it in my bed!” He screamed in pain and tried not to bare down.

Sky had come in and gently held Dory down. “Don’t get up Dory, your baby is coming out. You’ll hurt him.” He looked worried. “Come on buddy, bare down and push.”

Several other trolls swarmed into the room and watched on. They wanted to know who the father was. They all wanted to give him a piece of their minds.

Peridot came in and stood right by Branch’s side. He watched Dory and peeked towards his hind-end. He was curious. He could see that the baby’s head was starting to emerge. “Dory is having a baby.”

Dory punched Sky in the nose. “I’m not pooping in bed!” He hollered as his son came out. He breathed hard and looked down. “My insides came out!” He had tears in his eyes, until he saw Branch cleaning his son up. A smile crossed his face. “Oh! I had a baby!” He slowly calmed down and sat up in bed. “He’s so cute.”

Sky quickly backed off and whimpered. His nose was bleeding and broken. Dory had nailed him hard. “Oh god, he’s strong…” Tears ran down his cheeks. “I’ll be at the medical pod.” He left to go get his nose fixed. It wasn’t the first time his nose had been broken. He recalled what would have to be done.

Branch got the baby clean and began to pat him on the bottom. He hadn’t cried yet. She smiled when he began to let out nice loud cries. “Good boy.” She gently gave him to Dory. “Look what you did. You did so good.” She looked at the little trolling and felt her heart break. It appeared Dory’s rapist was going to get away with his crime. The baby looked like Dory, sans glitter. She was not amused. “What are you going to name him Dory?”

“I’m going to name him Topaz. Marlin? Can you remember that for me?” Dory didn’t want to forget. He looked down at little Topaz as Branch helped him set up to nurse.

“I like Topaz. That’s a pretty name.” Peridot had a huge grin on his face. He got to share his birthday with Dory’s baby. He was all sorts of excited.

Neptune was hiding in the bathroom. His heart was racing. As soon as he realized Dory was in labor, he went to hide. He had been the one that mated with Dory five and a half months earlier. He was worried someone was going to kill him. It had started as a bit of a misunderstanding. Dory had flirted with him, but when Dory told him no to mating, he had drugged him and had his way with him anyway. He didn’t think pregnancy was going to happen, but he was dead wrong. When no one started calling his name, he came out of the bathroom and headed out of the bunker. He headed straight home. He tried hard not to draw attention to himself.

Sapphire watched Neptune leave. He was puzzled as to why his parent’s friend left the party early, but he thought maybe he was just tired. He shrugged his shoulders and made his way towards Dory’s bedroom. “Is he OK mama?” He looked inside the bedroom and smiled when he heard the newborn cry.

“Yeah Sapphire, he’s just fine.” Branch sat down by Dory and rubbed his back gently.

“Oh! Sapphire has some wheels. Good for you!” Dory grinned up at Sapphire. He was happy to see that one of his buddies was in the room. “Did you see my son Jasper?”

“Topaz. Your son’s name is Topaz.” Marlin reminded him gently.

Everyone worked together to get Dory’s bed cleaned up and helped him with his baby. Once everything was clean and Topaz was put in a diaper, Branch helped Dory to the couch and sat him down so he could be a part of the party with everyone else. Lilac wasn’t going to be a part of his sixth birthday, but Branch couldn’t help but wonder if he was with them again, in one of the babies. She could only hope. She missed his sweet soul.


	19. A Very Proud Daddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dory goes to show off his son.

“Are you sure you are up to it Dory? You just had him yesterday.” Marlin was getting little Topaz dressed in a warm onesie. He smiled as the little wriggly newborn made a face and let out a soft cry. “I know, clothes are weird, but you have to be warm Topaz. It’s cold outside.”

Dory nodded and grinned. He wanted to walk around and show off his baby boy. He was very proud of what he made. Topaz may have been a surprise in his life, but he was very welcomed. Dory loved children.

“Alright, let’s try not to be outside too much though. I don’t want either of you getting sick.” Marlin put a scarf around Dory’s neck, and then put a coat on him. He gave Topaz to him. He put his own coat and scarf on. He walked with Dory towards the door. It was very cold outside.

Dory held his son close to his chest and walked out the door. He hurried straight for the medical pod. He got there and walked inside. “Gold! Look! I had a son. I named him Obsidian.”

“His name is Topaz. You named your baby Topaz.” Marlin smiled and winked at Gold. He was going to keep his promise of remembering Topaz’s given name.

Gold walked over and looked at Topaz. “May I?” He took Topaz when Dory offered him to him. He held him and checked him over. “He looks healthy. A little early, but not a dangerous early.” He set him down in the bed and checked him up and down. “He’s adorable. You did a good job Dory.” He picked him back up and looked over at Dory. Tears filled his eyes. “I wish we knew who hurt you.” He swallowed hard and sniffled. It hurt his heart knowing someone took advantage of Dory. The young troll was so sweet. He didn’t deserve it.

“Oh, don’t cry Gold.” Dory grabbed a tissue and dried his face gently. He met eyes with Gold’s golden eyes and looked into them with worried violet colored eyes. “There is no reason to be so upset.”

Marlin watched Dory and couldn’t help but smile. He had a feeling he knew why Dory actually wanted to go out. He wanted to show Gold his son. Dory had been showing a lot of interest in the older medical troll. There was a huge age gap between them, but to Dory, there was no age difference. He was falling in love with Gold.

“Sorry Dory. I was hoping we could find out who mated with you. He should have come forward by now and took responsibility.” Gold gently gave Topaz back to Dory. He looked up at him and widened his eyes when Dory kissed his cheek. He blushed and stumble back a few steps. “Dory…I’m fifteen years older than you.”

Dory blushed and watched Gold stumble back. “You are?”

“Love sees no age, Gold.” Marlin smiled softly. “But you’re more then welcome to say no. It will take some time for Dory to remember that you told him no though.”

Gold sat down on a chair and held his chest. “I’m not sure what to say. I didn’t think I would find another mate again. I have one son from my mate, Emerald. I named our son after him. He…he died in childbirth. I became a doctor after that…” He broke down and began to cry. He missed his mate. He had vowed if he could prevent another parent from dying in childbirth, he was going to do it. “Dory is only five years older then him…” It was just weird to him. He wasn’t sure what to do or say. He had a lot of thinking to do. He didn’t want to just say no. He needed to think about this first.

Dory gasped when he heard that Gold’s mate had died. “I’m sorry…” He sat down beside him and leaned into him. “Please don’t cry. There is no reason to cry.” He began to sing. He wanted to make Gold feel better. He shifted his son and rested him over his shoulder. He patted his little back gently and soothingly. Topaz was calm and sleepy. He had eaten not long ago, so he was content.

Marlin backed off and watched. He didn’t want to interfere.

“Oh Dory…” Gold put his arm on his shoulder leaned into him. “You’re such a sweet soul. I don’t deserve you.”

“But Gold, I can remember you. You make me feel safe. You’re patient. You make me feel whole…” Dory shifted some of his weight onto Gold. “You deserve to be happy and loved…”

Gold sniffled and looked down at his free hand. He wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. He felt so much conflict. He didn’t want to tell him yes, but he didn’t want to tell him no either. “I’m scared to love again.”

“When I am with you, I feel love. I feel home.” Dory gently tucked Topaz into his hair. He took Gold’s hand. “I don’t want you to be scared. I remember things better around you. You make me feel whole.”

“Dory…” Gold took a deep breath and sniffled. “Please, this is hard.” He turned to Dory and hugged into him. “I told my heart I couldn’t bear to lose another.”

“You can’t lose what you don’t have.” Dory nodded and suddenly looked alarmed. “Where is Marble?!” He looked around for his baby.

“He’s right here Dory.” Gold gently reached into his hair and picked little Topaz up. “Topaz is alright.” He wasn’t surprised that Topaz managed to impact his memory that much, that he was remembered he existed at one day old. Birth would have that much of an impact.

“There’s my beautiful baby boy.” Dory reached over and picked Topaz up. He held him and smiled at him. “You’re so tiny and adorable.”

“You’re a great father Dory. He’s going to be so loved.” Gold smiled and put his hand on Dory’s thigh. “Let’s take this slowly, alright? I don’t want you to rush, and I don’t want to feel rushed. One baby step at a time.” Gold had a feeling it was going to take a while for Dory to even remember that he would have a partner.

“Slow with what?” Dory looked up at him and cocked his head.

Gold chuckled and smiled. “Slow with a relationship.”

“Oh! I get a boyfriend! Yay!” Dory touched noses with his son. “You get two daddies!” He was very excited. “I love you, Gold.”

“I love you too, Dory.” Gold looked over at Marlin and smiled softly. He had a feeling this was the start of an odd and beautiful mateship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song Dory sang. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song writer and artist.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrM-Bkm4c_I


	20. Abled And Proud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapphire and Basil pull a stunt that scare their parents.

It had been a month since Dory gave birth to Topaz. Basil and Sapphire were out by the wingdingle pen. The young birds were well trained and very tame. They got very excited when the boys came over. They were getting use to Sapphire’s wheelchair and were not afraid of it.

“Are you sure about this?” Basil had been out flying before, but this was the first time he was going to do this without an adult. He was more worried about Sapphire’s safety then anything. He did not want his brother to fall and get hurt again. He certainly didn’t want him to die like Lilac had.

“Hey, I might not be able to walk anymore, but with these birds we sure could get around.” Sapphire wheeled over to the smallest of the three birds. She was the tamest. He didn’t want to get bucked off. He grabbed a hold of her feathers and climbed up onto her back. He hugged into her back, and then moved his leg to her other side carefully. He sat up and smiled down at Basil. “Are you coming or not?”

“Of course, I’m coming.” Basil climbed onto the bird and tried to get in front of Sapphire.

“Oh, fuck no, you’re not taking charge.” Sapphire grabbed him by the hair and moved him, so he was behind him. 

Basil frowned and tried to move back to the front. A hair whapping match went between the boys, until Basil gave up. He was getting sore. “Fine, you win…this time…”

Sapphire smirked and patted the female wingdingle gently. “Alright Bell, let’s get some exercise, alright?” He carefully signaled for the bird to take off. He held on tightly to her and squealed in delight when she took off.

Basil held on for dear life but was squealing in delight too. He loved feeling the wind on his face.

Branch heard squeals from inside the bunker. She scrambled out the door and looked around. She saw her boys just before they disappeared out of sight. “Guy!!!” She hurried back inside. “Our sons just took off with Bell! They’re heading north!” She had tears in her eyes. She didn’t want anything to happen to her babies.

Guy Diamond cursed and hurried outside. He got on one of the other wingdingles. “Let’s go Flute.” He signaled for him to take off. He headed north, praying that the boys didn’t get hurt.

Sapphire circled around the colony. He didn’t plan to go far. He looked around and frowned, noticing that his father was heading towards them. He was tempted to fly around and have his dad give chase, but he also didn’t want to get grounded for the rest of his life. “Crap, dad figured it out already.” He signaled for Bell to head back to the pen. He held on and looked over his shoulder. He could hear Flute approaching them from behind.

Basil got off of Bell the moment they landed. He bolted for the bunker to go hide. He knew they were in deep trouble. He got cut off by Branch, who grabbed him by the ear and took him to the corner. “Busted…”

Guy Diamond got off Flute and ran over to Sapphire. He took him off the large bird and set him in his chair. “Damn it Sapphire! What if you fell down?! I can’t lose you!” Tears ran down his cheeks. Sapphire had scared him.

“I’m not fragile dad! I did just fine…” Sapphire crossed his arms and huffed. He threw his arms up and growled. “You treat me different since I fell from the troll tree!”

“Of course, I treat you different! I almost lost you Sapphire…” Guy Diamond let out a sob. “Go into the bunker right now and go to the corner! You have thinking to do! You’re not allowed on the wingdingles without an adult!”

Sapphire grumbled and began rolling his way towards the bunker. He glared at his mother as he went by her. He had had fun and didn’t like that he was in trouble.

Branch ignored the glare. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into an awkward hug. “Don’t scare me like that ever again…” She began to shake and sob. “I can’t lose you. I almost lost you already.”

Sapphire frowned when she began to sob. He swallowed hard and hugged into her. “I’m alright mom. I held on tight. I wasn’t going to fall.” He startled when Creek and Guy Diamond joined in hugging him. “I’m alright…” He felt bad now for scaring them. “Please don’t cry. There is no reason to cry.” He had stolen that line from Dory. It was a good line for this moment.

“No more wingdingle rides without help. We won’t do well if we lose you. Basil too. Don’t do it ever again.” Creek let the hug go. “Now go to the corner. I heard your father tell you to go there.”

Branch sniffled and rubbed her face of tears. She nudged his chair towards the corner. “Go on, both of you get fifteen minutes for scaring all of us.”

Guy Diamond went to make sure Bell and Flute were tied up next to their brother, Trumpet. He didn’t want them flying off.

Sapphire made his way to the corner and looked at the corner. He was still annoyed that he was in trouble, but he understood why his parents had been so upset. Would it be his last time he took off on Bell? Heck no, but he was going to make sure he was careful every time. He didn’t want to fall again. He refused to take a fall again like he had from the Troll Tree. That pain was awful. He wouldn’t be doing it ever again.


	21. A Love To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dory and Gold get married.

A month later, and two weeks into spring, everyone gathered at the concert mushroom. Today was a very special day. Dory had asked Gold several times the last two weeks for Gold to take his hand, and Gold finally accepted. 

Marlin was getting Dory ready. He had dressed him up in a dark blue suit with a baby blue tie. He looked into Dory’s eyes and smiled at him. “I love who you chose to be your love forever. I’m so happy for you.” He was sporting a light orange suit with a darker orange tie. He hugged Dory to him and smiled. He wanted nothing but the best for Dory. He was so happy for his best friend.

“Why am I dressed up again?” Dory knew something important was going on. It frustrated him that he couldn’t remember what it was.

“You’re getting married Dory.” Marlin chuckled and gently took Topaz out of Dory’s hair. “I’ll babysit for you.” He tucked the little chunk into his hair and laughed when Topaz let out a soft coo. “I know little guy, you love your uncle Marlin, don’t you?”

“I’m getting married?! I hope it’s to Gold!” Dory had a huge grin on his face. He watched Marlin put his son into his hair. “Thank you for watching Topaz for me, Marlin.”

“Yes, you’re marrying Gold.” Marlin took his hand and headed towards the concert mushroom with him.

Gold was getting ready too. He was sporting a dark blue suit with a baby blue tie. He put a flower in his hair and adjusted his pants. He turned and frowned, seeing that Emerald had been watching him. “Son…” He was worried. Emerald was having a hard time with all this.

“Dad, are you sure about this? He’s only five years older then me. I’m going to have a stepdad that is only slightly older then me. It’s so weird.” Emerald was in a light orange suit with a dark orange tie. He was apprehensive, but wasn’t going to take away his dad’s happiness, if this was what he wanted.

“Yes son, I’m sure.” Gold walked over to Emerald and gave him a warm hug. “I hope one day you see that love is blind. The age gap is very huge, but it’s clear that he loves me with all of his heart. I’ve opened my heart to him. I wouldn’t want anyone else in my life but him. He’s so much like your daddy in so many ways. I’m not going to let him go.”

“I wish I knew daddy Emerald. He sounds like he was a great troll.” Emerald snuggled into his father and frowned. “I love you dad.”

“You’re so much like him son. You look like him and you act like him. You’re his little mini. I’m proud of the man you’re becoming.” Gold had Emerald look up and looked into his dark green eyes. “It’s going to be OK.” He ran his hand through Emerald’s dark green hair and smiled. “Come on, let’s get going.” Gold took his son’s hand and walked towards the concert mushroom.

Once the grooms had arrived, everyone looked up at King Poppy expectantly. Nemo was also in a matching suit as Emerald and Marlin. He stood by his father and grinned. He was very excited for Dory. Marlin was at Dory’s side, as his best man. Emerald was at his father’s side, as his best man.

“Gold, please take Dory’s hands.” Poppy smiled at them.

Gold reached over and took Dory’s hands. He looked into his mate’s violet colored eyes. He was nervous but felt that he made a great choice for their future. He planned to protect Dory. He would never allow him to be hurt again. He planned to protect him with his life. He began to sing to him. He was very happy.

Once Gold was done singing, Poppy grabbed a flower and put it in their hands. He grinned and looked between them. “Thank you everyone, for gathering here today to witness the union of two very special trolls. With this holding of hands, Dory will become husband to Gold. He promises to love and to hold him. Take care of him and cherish him, until death do them part. He promises to be a good father to Emerald, and to take care of any future children that come from them. Gold promises to love Dory and take good care of him until death do them part. He promises to take good care of Topaz, and be a good father to him, and any future children they have. Do you both accept these conditions?”

“Oh, that’s a lot to remember!” Dory looked worried. “Gold? Can you remember that for me?!”

“Yes Dory, I’ll remember for you.” Gold smiled at him and looked at Poppy. “I accept these conditions.”

“I accept them too! Whatever they are…” Dory was nervous. He didn’t want to mess this up.

A small nervous chuckle escaped Marlin. He understood why Dory was so nervous. He didn’t blame him.

“With acceptance, I now pronounce you husbands. You may now kiss!” Poppy smiled widely. He was so happy for them.

Dory squirmed and then pulled Gold into a hug. He began kissing him passionately. He was so excited.

Gold widened his eyes at how eager Dory was to kiss. His heart melted, and he began kissing him back. He held him close and closed his eyes. He was very happy.

Dory let the kiss go and smiled. He took Gold’s hand and looked at the crowd when the roared in approval.

After the wedding, everyone gathered for a party. Gold held Dory to him and danced with him to the beat of the music. He hadn’t felt this close to anyone in almost sixteen years. Emerald was going to be sixteen in just a few weeks. It was hard to believe that he was almost an adult.

Dory hummed as they danced. He was very happy. He had Gold snuggled up to him. He loved Gold. He kissed him several times as they held each other close and moved to the rhythm of the music.

“Would you like to go home Dory?” Gold looked into his mate’s eyes and smiled at him. He could feel that his mate was aroused through his dress pants. He didn’t want things to get to heated at the party.

Dory nodded and smiled at him. “Yes please…” He took his hand and headed towards Gold’s flower pod.

“Oh! We didn’t say good bye…” Gold laughed and waved to everyone as Dory dragged him towards his flower pod.

Marlin waved Gold good bye. He turned and went to tell King Poppy what was going on. They would party without the grooms. If they wanted to leave early, that was alright.

Dory got to the flower pod and looked at Gold. He looked puzzled for a moment. “Why did we go home?”

Gold chuckled and took his hands. “You were aroused. I didn’t want to mate in front of the entire colony.”

“Oh!” Dory laughed and pulled Gold into a hug. He began kissing him passionately. He groaned, feeling his member twitch in his pants. He began pulling Gold’s pants down, while keeping a tight lip lock. He let it go so that he could remove Gold’s tuxedo.

Gold murmured that he loved Dory. He began removing his suit and ran his hands along Dory’s hips. He took Dory’s member into his hand and messaged it gently.

“Mm…yes please.” Dory moaned and ran his hand along Gold’s own swollen member. He kissed him eagerly and shivered in delight when Gold put gentle pressure on his tip. “Feels so good…” He helped Gold down to the ground and pressed into him as they kissed. He kept his hand on Gold’s member and kept rubbing him. He was very pleased.

Gold moaned and kissed along Dory’s neck and chest. He was very pleased too.

Dory repositioned himself, and gently pushed his member into Gold. He began thrusting slowly at first but quickened his pace as he got a good rhythm going. He held his mate close and moaned loudly. He was very pleased.

Gold breathed sharply when Dory entered him. Dory was large and felt so good. He was very pleased. He moved his hips with his mate and kissed him passionately. He was glad he had decided to open his heart up again.

The two of them mated for several hours, until Emerald came home. They scrambled out of the living space and moved their activities to the bedroom. They were far from done.

Emerald had a look of horror on his face as he slowly closed the door and left to go spend the night at the bunker. The poor dark green glitter trolling didn’t want to ever see that again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song that Gold sang. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the song writer and artist.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnhamPnvXuQ


	22. The Power Of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold and Dory are in for a big surprise.

Dory and Gold were very active mates, so it was no surprise when six weeks later, both were showing signs of pregnancy. 

Dory was at the bunker, puking into the toilet. He groaned and held his stomach. He heard little Topaz fuss in his hair. “Hold on buddy. Daddy’s getting sick.” He gagged and emptied the rest of his stomach into the toilet. Once he was done, he flushed the toilet and rinsed out his mouth. He came out of the bathroom and came face to face with Marlin. He grinned and hugged him. “Hey buddy, how are you today?”

“I’m doing good Dory. Are you pregnant again already?” Marlin had heard him getting sick.

“Am I? I’m not sure if I checked yet.” Dory took Topaz out of his hair and began feeding him. He had started to cry. “What do you think Topaz? Do you want a baby brother? Gold would love another baby.”

“You better warn Gold that he hits hard.” Sky had overheard that Dory might be pregnant. He had no plans of ever holding down Dory again. The confused troll had really hurt his nose.

“Let’s go to the medical pod and talk to Gold, alright?” Marlin led Dory towards the medical pod. He was happy for Dory. He was glad he was in a safe and happy relationship.

Dory happily headed towards the medical pod. He spent a lot of time in there lately, just so he could keep company with Gold. When he wasn’t there, he was at the bunker with his friends. He was never alone anymore. Gold was very protective and made sure he was always with someone safe. Once at the medical pod, Dory walked over to Gold and grinned. “Hey handsome.”

“Mm, visiting me at work again?” Gold reached in for a kiss. He didn’t have any clients at the moment and was going over study work with Emerald. Emerald’s doctor studies had increased lately. They desperately needed a second doctor.

“I think Dory is pregnant Gold.” Marlin smiled and sat down at a chair.

Dory had a huge smile on his face. “How far along am I?”

“Let me check dad.” Emerald walked over and inspected Dory’s belly. “Yeah, I feel an enlarged pod. Not sure on how far along. I need practice.”

Gold checked and nodded and examined Dory as well. “Yes, I agree. He’s pregnant. One baby. About five weeks along.” He kissed him and smiled wide. “I’m very sure I’m pregnant too. Do you want to check Emerald?”

Marlin smirked. “You two are going to be busy. Three babies under the age of one.”

“Yay!” Dory kissed Gold and squirmed with delight. He was going to have a baby with his Gold!

“Yes, of course.” Emerald inspected him and widened his eyes. “There’s more then one baby in here.”

“That’s alright Emerald. I had a feeling it was more then one. How many do you feel in there?”

“One…two…three…” Emerald swallowed hard. “Erm…four…five.”

“Whoa! Your pulling my leg!” Gold’s own eyes were wide as saucers.

“Mmm…well let’s see…six…seven…” Emerald grinned up at him. He had added the last two since his dad didn’t believe him.

“Septuplets?! Come on Emerald. How many am I having really?!” Gold’s heart was racing. Tears filled his eyes. He was suddenly very worried about the unborn pods in his belly. Quintuplets were almost unheard of, and there was no documentation of a surviving pregnancy beyond that.

Dory looked so confused. “What’s going on? Why is Gold so upset?!”

Marlin’s jaw had dropped. He was in shock.

“Oh dad, don’t cry. It’s five. I’m sorry.” Emerald hugged him and frowned. He didn’t mean to make him cry.

“Oh my god…” Gold began to sob. He was suddenly absolutely petrified. He had lost his first and only pregnancy not long after Emerald was born due to stress. He knew with the increase in pregnancy size, the chances of making it to term and having live babies decreased. He was very worried that he would lose their babies. It was a huge miracle that Branch had even made it to five and a half months with her quadruplets.

“Don’t cry Gold. Five babies is a good thing.” Dory snuggled into him and frowned. He didn’t like that he was so upset.

“It’s going to be alright Gold.” Marlin reassured him. Five was a huge number, but they were going to try their absolute best to make those babies stay in Gold until they were close to term. “I’m going to talk to Branch. Perhaps you should move into the bunker with me and Nemo until the babies are born. I’ll help you two out.”

“Dad lost my brother shortly after I was born. He wasn’t ready for the world yet. He saved me from being given to a surrogate to nurse, but it broke dad’s heart. He’s scared he will lose another pregnancy.” Emerald explained. His heart ached seeing his dad this upset. “I’ll help here at the medical pod dad. Try not to stress out too much.”

“Oh no! That’s so sad.” Dory held his mate and frowned. “Don’t worry Gold, your baby is safe.”

“I’m having babies Dory. Five of them.” Gold reminded Dory gently. He looked at Marlin and sniffled. “I’m worried. I’m the only doctor right now. I was thinking I could handle a single or twin pregnancy, but there is no way I can work longer then two more months with five unborn pods growing inside me. After that I will have no choice but to go on bedrest.”

“We’ll make this work. We have a good team now. Don’t worry too much.” Emerald reassured. “I’ve got this dad. I know I’m only sixteen, but you’ve told me more then once that I know more now then you did a year into your internship. I’ll take care of the colony.”

“Thank you, son. I’ll help you until I go on bedrest.” Gold sniffled and looked up at Dory when he dried his face. “I guess Dory and I will get to have more bonding time.” He snuggled into him and sighed. He really hoped he would make it to a survivable gestation with his quints. This was absolutely terrifying.


	23. Determined Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapphire tries to prove that he can do whatever he wants without any help what so ever.

A week had gone by since Gold found out he was expecting quintuplets. Sapphire had awoken in the morning early. He rolled over to the end of the bed, sat up on the edge of the bed, and scooted himself into his wheelchair. He hurried towards the toilet. He didn’t always make it in the morning, but he was determined not to pee himself today. He got to the bathroom and got to the toilet. He was about to get on it himself, when Branch came over and helped him get onto it. “Mom!”

“I know you got it, but you looked worried that you might have an accident. I was only trying to help.” Branch backed off to give her son some privacy while he went to the bathroom. She closed the door and stood right outside the door. She was still very attentive of him. She couldn’t help herself. She wanted to make sure he was taken care of.

Once Sapphire was done, he got himself cleaned up and pulled himself back onto his wheelchair. He made his way to the sink and washed his hands.

Branch came in and smiled at him. “You’re up early this morning. Are you feeling alright?” She checked his forehead.

“Yeah mom, I’m alright. Can we so something different today? Please?” Sapphire looked up at her.

“What would you like to do today?” Branch smiled down at him. She was willing to do anything for him.

“I don’t want any help, please. If I slip out of my chair, let me get up on my own. If I need to potty, let me do it. When it is time for my bath, let me do it alone. If I have an accident, let me clean it up myself. Please? I want to do it mom.” Sapphire was getting tired of being babied. He didn’t need all this attention before the fall. He really wanted his independence back.

“All day?” Branch frowned and rubbed her arm. “But son, what if you need help?”

“I’ll call out for help. I want to try and do this alone.” Sapphire reached over and took her hand. He pulled her close and hugged her. “Please mom? This is so important to me. I want to get back to the way it use to be before the accident. I don’t like being treated like a baby.”

“Alright son, I’ll try.” Branch hugged him and sighed. “If you need anything at all, just call me.” She kissed his cheek, and then went to go check on the babies.

Sapphire grinned and went to go get breakfast. It was a task he was able to do before on his own. He made his way to the counter and looked up at it. It was a little high to reach the biscuits, but he was determined not to ask for help. He got to the edge of the counter, stretched his hair out, and grabbed a biscuit with his hair. He shifted his hair into two and spread some jam on his biscuit. He reached his hair down when he was done and put it in his hands. He saw that the biscuit was messy, because he couldn’t see what he was doing, but it was better then nothing. It was going to take practice to figure out how to do that properly. He ate his biscuit, and then headed to the kitchen sink to wash his hands and the tip of his hair. Once that was done, he went into the living space and looked down at Peridot. He saw he was coloring. It looked like fun. He carefully got off his chair and scooted closer to his brother on his belly. He reached over and took a sheet of paper. He began to color with his brother.

Peridot looked up at Sapphire and smiled. “Don’t forget to color inside the lines.” He looked determined as he colored in a butterfly. He was trying so hard to make it pretty.

Sapphire continued to do his daily routine, and not once asked for help. At the end of the night, he crawled into bed and covered himself up. He looked over at the door when his mom walked in. “I did it mom.”

“You did a good job.” Branch gave him a hug and ran her hand through his royal blue hair. He was going to need modifications to do everything he wanted on his own, but it looked like he was going to be able to do just about anything, just like Basil. She hoped to one day accept that he didn’t need her all the time. It was hard. He had scared her, and he was always going to be extra special anyway, because he was her first baby from consented relations. He would always have a special place in her heart.


	24. A Little Buddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new trolling shows up unexpectedly and gets everyone wondering where he came from and why he was at Troll Village.

A couple of month later, a troll was leading an eleven-year-old trolling towards Troll Village. He had heard about Troll Village, and how kind they were. He thought perhaps they would be able to handle his son better then him and his husband. He let his son’s hand go, and then ran off into the forest without him.

The young trolling felt his father’s hand let him go. He frowned and stood there for some time. He thought perhaps he was getting him food. After about an hour of standing there, he shuffled towards the direction he thought they came. The white glitter trolling had baby pink hair and baby pink eyes. He was blind and deaf. He felt around for a tree but didn’t find one. Instead, he ran into the local blackberry bush. He felt the sharp stab of the bush. He stumbled back, only to find another thorny vine. He started getting tangled up in it. He began screaming and crying. He was very scared.

Smidge heard the screams of a frightened trolling near the blackberry bush. He grabbed his bow and arrows and ran towards the screams. Poppy and Jadice were right at his heels, along with a handful of scouts and warriors.

Poppy saw the young trolling. “Aww, you poor thing. Hold still, I got this.” He began untangling him from the vine.

The young one suddenly got very quiet and held still. He realized he had been making too much noise. He startled when Poppy grabbed his arm. He started to shake, thinking he would be punished for screaming.

“Let’s get you to the medical pod. You need to be cleaned up.” Poppy gently led the young troll towards the medical pod. The cuts were not very deep, but they did need to be cleaned. He didn’t want him getting an infection. “What’s your name?”

“You’re a pretty little guy.” Smidge walked with Poppy and looked around. “Where did you come from kid?”

The young troll breathed hard as he was led away. He had no idea what was going on. He was shaking scared. He didn’t hear the questions, so of course he didn’t answer them. He wouldn’t be able to anyway. He had never learned how to speak or communicate.

“I’m not sure if he can hear.” Jadice came up behind them and clapped his hands together. He didn’t get a reaction. He looked over at Smidge and frowned. The last time he saw a deaf trolling, he had been executed. King Aspen didn’t tolerate disabilities. “I have a bad feeling he was abandoned. I’m honestly surprised they waited until he was this old…”

“Poor kid.” Poppy got to the medical pod and picked the kid up. He set him on the bed. “It’s alright little buddy. You’re safe.”

“Buddy might be a good nickname until we find out his name.” Smidge suggested.

Buddy startled when Poppy sat him down on a bed. It was very comfortable. He wanted to snuggle into it, but he was afraid to move. He was so tired and sore.

Gold walked over and began cleaning Buddy’s wounds up. “Looks like you got in a fight with a blackberry bush kid.” He was round in the midsection, and already looked like he was full term with a single baby. He was already very uncomfortable and was going to be put on bedrest starting at the end of his shift.

Jadice got in front of the trolling and smiled at him. “Buddy sounds good.” He waved to the frightened trolling. He wondered if he knew any sign language. He himself didn’t know more then basic hand signals, but waving was universal. He wanted to see if he could get the poor kid to calm down. He looked so scared. He frowned when he got no reaction. “He did get in a fight with a blackberry bush. Gold? Can you check his eyes? I think he’s blind too.”

“Poor kid…” Poppy looked so worried.

Gold took a small flashlight and checked his eyes. He noticed that his retinas were detached just like Basil. He checked his ears too. They weren’t clogged up. “He’s blind. I don’t think he can hear either. Poor young fella.” He finished getting him cleaned up and gave him a gentle hug.

Buddy cringed when his eye lids were touched. He whimpered and shied away from Gold’s touch. He startled when Gold checked his ears. He was so worried that he was going to be in trouble. He startled badly when Gold pulled him into a hug. He breathed hard and swallowed.

“He’s been beaten.” Smidge clenched his fists. “If I found those parents, I’ll rip them to shreds.”

“He’s safe now. I wonder where we should take him. He’s so scared.” Poppy thought for a moment and then smiled. “Basil could probably help him with his blindness. Branch might know how to handle the deafness. She’s read every book in this colony at least once. There has to be documentation around somewhere that explains how to handle a deaf child.”

“She’s going to kill us all.” Jadice chuckled. “She’s already so busy and has two disabled children already.” Although Victory had also been through a rough patch, he was no longer considered disabled. He showed no signs anymore of ever having a problem with his heart.

“Nah, she loves kids.” Smidge helped Buddy off the bed. “Take it easy Gold. Those babies need you to rest.” He smiled at him, and then headed for the bunker with the young trolling.

“I’ll be over at the bunker in a few hours. Just going to go over a few more notes with Emerald.” Gold watched them all go.

Poppy, Smidge, Jadice, and Buddy made their way to the bunker. Once there, Jadice knocked on the door.

Creek answered the door and frowned, seeing a scratched-up trolling at his door step, along with his kings. “What happened?”

Jadice began to explain what they knew and that this poor kid needed help. “He’s got no one. I’m very sure he’s been abandoned.”

Buddy had a hold of Poppy’s hand. He wasn’t sure where they were going now, but so far no one had smacked him around for doing something wrong. He’s little heart was pounding hard in his chest.

“Poor kid. I’m sure we can figure something out for him.” Creek gently took Buddy’s hand and led him into the bunker. He headed for the living space. “Branch? Guy Diamond?” He called his mates. He rubbed Buddy’s back gently. He wanted to reassure him that he was safe.

Branch came into the living space and frowned, seeing the young trolling. “What happened?”

Guy Diamond saw the trolling. He walked over and grimaced. “Oh, he got tangled in the blackberry bush. That hurts.”

Smidge began explaining what was going on. He smiled when he saw Basil walk over to Buddy. 

Basil listened to Smidge as he made his way over to the frightened trolling. He reached his hands up and inspected Buddy head to toe. “He’s a trolling. A little taller then me, but not by much. My age?” He heard that he was deaf. He put Buddy’s hand on his chest so he could feel his heart. He then put Buddy’s hand on his on own chest so he could feel his own heartbeat. He wanted to show him that they were both the same. He seemed to understand that communication wasn’t going to be easy, but he was willing to try. He knew life wasn’t easy being blind. He couldn’t imagine life being deaf too.

Buddy widened his eyes when Basil inspected him. He whimpered and startled when Basil moved his hand from Basil’s chest to his chest. He wasn’t sure what was going on. He began to squirm and held himself. He had to pee very badly.

“Oh, he’s going to pee himself if we don’t get him to a toilet.” Branch took his hand and led him to the toilet. She had him sit on it, and then left him and closed the door so he could have some privacy.

Buddy looked frightened when Branch suddenly grabbed him. He barely made it to the toilet before his bladder released. He let out the hugest sigh of relief as he emptied his bladder. He felt much better not having that constant pressure. 

Sapphire had watched Branch lead Buddy into the bathroom. He came over and smiled up at his mom. He had heard some of the conversation. “Mom? Is he going to be a part of the family?”

“Yes Sapphire, he’s part of the family now. He needs us.” Branch watched the door and smiled. She had a lot of kids, but she wasn’t going to let this little one go. He was obviously abused and needed them badly. She was determined to make sure that the rest of his life was much better from this moment on.


	25. Cuddle Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dory meets the new young trolling.

Later that afternoon, Dory and Gold showed up to the bunker. As planned, Gold was going to spend the rest of his pregnancy there on bedrest. He settled down in a bed in Marlin’s room. Dory was right beside him, fussing over him.

Once Gold was all settled and dozed off for a nap, Dory stepped out of the room. He looked around and smiled at the kids. They were playing and running around. He loved watching them play. “That looks like fun.” He began chasing Nemo around and giggled. He stopped when he noticed Buddy in the corner. He walked over to him and offered his hand. “It’s alright, you can go play too.” He didn’t recognize the kid, but if he was in Branch’s bunker, he was a part of the family in his eyes.

Buddy had found a spot in the corner and was hugging his knees. He wasn’t sure what was going on. He went from being with his daddy, to being in a strange home with lots of strangers. He was petrified. He had been touched, pulled, and pushed several times since arriving hours ago. He was used to being manipulated, since there was really no other way to communicate, but he had come to realize that there were a lot of trolls around him in this new place. He made no movement to take Dory’s hand. He wasn’t even aware that Dory had reached his hand towards him.

“He’s blind and deaf Dory.” Sapphire wheeled his way over and came to a stop right beside Dory. “He’s very scared.”

“I would be scared to.” Dory moved closer to Buddy. He sat down by him and pulled him into a gentle hug. He held the young trolling and smiled when he suddenly glued himself to him. “Aww…you’re a hugger.”

Buddy felt the sudden embrace. He felt the glitter on his skin. He thought for a moment that it was his nice daddy. He had come back to save him! He snuggled into his chest and rested his head on Dory’s shoulder. He noticed that Dory’s belly was slightly enlarged. He felt the baby moving within him. He realized this was not his daddy. He cringed and let him go. He wriggled away and pressed into the wall. He was so confused and scared.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen him hug back. He likes you Dory.” Sapphire misunderstood. He slid off his chair and moved over to Buddy. He carefully got onto his bottom and moved his legs, so they were crossed. He snuggled into Buddy gently.

Buddy felt the younger trolling snuggle into him. It was not the first time Sapphire snuggled with him. He was already figuring out this one was different then the others that kept touching him. He seemed gentle and loving. He snuggled back this time. He was still very scared but so far no one had hurt him, so it made him feel a little better. He groaned feeling his stomach growl. He was so hungry but was afraid to go look for food. Getting into food got him in trouble. He always waited until someone put food in his hands. His hunger pains were not helped by the delicious smell of bread baking in the oven.

“I like him. Can we keep him?” Dory grinned when Sapphire nodded. “Good! Another buddy!”

“That’s his nickname. No one knows his given name.” Branch walked over and smiled. It was good to see Buddy relax, even if it was just a little bit. She heard Buddy’s stomach growl. She didn’t even think about the fact he might be hungry. He had shown up right after lunch. She walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a fresh, warm slice of bread. She put some jam on it and then got another slice and put almond butter on it. She put the sandwich together and walked back over to Buddy. She gently took Buddy’s hand and put the sandwich on top of his hand.

Buddy startled when Branch took his hand. He felt the sandwich being placed on his hand. He hesitated, smelling the sweet smell of jam. He wasn’t sure if they was something he was allowed. He stood absolutely still. He wasn’t sure how to react.

“It’s alright, it’s all yours.” Dory rubbed Buddy’s back, forgetting that he was deaf.

Sapphire guided the sandwich to his face. He could hear Buddy’s stomach rumble. He wasn’t sure why Buddy hesitated, but he was willing to help.

Buddy whimpered and gave the sandwich to Sapphire. He wasn’t sure about this.

“Aww, Buddy, that’s all yours.” Branch gently took the sandwich from Sapphire and gave it back to Buddy. She got on her knees and rubbed his back soothingly.

“Maybe he’s not hungry?” Dory looked confused as to why they were force feeding this trolling.

Sapphire shoved he sandwich into Buddy’s mouth. He wanted him to eat. He was obviously hungry.

Buddy’s eyes went wide when he suddenly had a mouthful of sandwich. He sputtered a bit and then began to chew. He groaned loving the sweet and savory flavors in his mouth. It was way better then anything he had ever tasted before. He began scarfing down the sandwich like he had never eaten a day in his life.

“He was hungry.” Branch smiled softly. “Poor baby. I wonder when he last ate.” She walked over to the kitchen to get Buddy something to drink. She came back and held the glass of juice in her hand. She waited for him to finish.

“Aww, you haven’t eaten? Why didn’t you ask for food?” Dory had already forgotten that Buddy was deaf and blind.

“He’s blind and deaf. He probably didn’t know how to ask.” Sapphire pulled himself back into his wheelchair and headed for the bathroom.

Buddy licked his lips clean when he finished and felt around for Sapphire. He liked Sapphire. He frowned when he realized he was no longer near him.

Branch put the glass of juice in Buddy’s hand.

“Oh…” Dory watched Sapphire head for the bathroom. He got up and walked over to the kitchen. The smell of fresh bread was making him hungry too.

Buddy felt the glass in his hands. He began to drink right away. He was so thirsty. He was delighted by the sweet taste of lemonade. He drank it all down. He startled when Branch took the glass away when it was empty. He scooted back into the wall and leaned on it. He groaned, feeling very sleepy. Now that all his needs were met, his body wanted a nap. He began to doze off, leaned up against the wall.

Branch came back and smiled softly when she realized that the poor kid had passed out. “You’re so tired…” She picked him up and carried him to Peridot’s room. She set him down in his bed and covered him up. She headed out the door and towards the kitchen to tend to the bread.


	26. Flying Trollings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the boys get into trouble.

A month after arriving in Troll Village, Buddy had calmed down considerably. He had come to trust all of the boys that lived in the bunker. He had a little more confidence, since no one had hurt him or scared him like his father had. He missed his daddy, but even his daddy wasn’t as nice as his new adoptive family.

Sapphire decided he was ready for another adventure on the wingdingles. He had talked to Aquamarine, Meadow, Victory, Basil, Peridot, River, Keith, Current, Apple, Nemo, and attempted to communicate to Buddy. All twelve of them gathered around the three wingdingles. Nemo, Aquamarine, Buddy, and Keith got on Trumpet. Sapphire, Current, Apple, and Victory got on Bell. Basil, Meadow, Peridot, and River got on Flute. Once all twelve were on the three birds, Sapphire signaled for Bell to fly, Basil signaled for Flute to fly, and Aquamarine signaled for Trumpet to fly. With all three birds in the air, there was no way they parents could stop them. Giggles filled the air as all three birds began to fly around.

Buddy was very nervous. He hugged into Aquamarine’s midsection and held on for dear life. He wasn’t sure why he was on a bird, but when he felt the wind in his face, he began squealing and giggling. He liked how that felt.

“I told you Buddy would like this.” Sapphire called over to his quad. He was having lots of fun.

“He’s got a death grip on me. Not that that is a bad thing. I don’t want him falling.” Aquamarine smiled at his brother.

Guy Diamond came out to see what the boys were up to. They sounded very excited. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw not one boy, not two, but twelve boys on those wingdingles. “You boys get down here right this minute!”

“No way dad! We’re having fun!” Basil let out a loud whoop. 

“I’m good dad!” Sapphire was giggling as he made Bell go in circles. He was having a blast.

“No harm done dad. We will be down in a few hours.” Aquamarine looked over at Basil. “I’ll race you to the river and back?” He signaled for Trumpet to fly towards the river.

“Bring it on!” Basil had Flute head toward the river.

“I’m going to beat you!” Sapphire had Bell take off towards the river.

“You boys are grounded for life!” Guy Diamond yelled as he watched them fly off towards the river. He was livid.

About three hours later, the boys came back towards the bunker. They landed in the pen and got off the birds. Sapphire, Basil, and Aquamarine hooked up the birds like responsible trollings, and then turned to their angry parents. They had huge grins on their faces.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Branch came over and pulled Sapphire off of Bell. She put him in his wheelchair and pushed his wheelchair towards the bunker.

“I was wanting to have fun.” Sapphire knew he was in trouble. It was so worth it.

Creek pulled Basil off of Flute, and then took him by the ear and led him towards the bunker.

“Ow!” Basil whimpered and walked with Creek. He hated when his parents did that. 

Guy Diamond pulled Aquamarine off Trumpet. “You surprise me Aquamarine. You’re the peacekeeper of the kids.” He led him towards the bunker.

“Aww, dad we didn’t get hurt. I made sure of it.” Aquamarine groaned as he was led into the bunker.

The rest of the kids followed them. They hung their heads. They knew they were in trouble. Nemo took Buddy’s hand and led him towards the bunker.

Buddy was the only one smiling. He had no idea that he was in trouble too. He squealed when Branch suddenly grabbed him and put his nose in a corner. He suddenly frowned and cringed. Yep, now he knew he was in trouble. He wasn’t sure for what though. The poor kid was so confused.

“Aww, why are the kids in the corner?” Dory watched as the twelve boys were put in twelve corners. He didn’t know that they had been very naughty.

“They went on a joy ride on the wingdingles and didn’t listen.” Branch looked around the room and frowned. “All you boys know better! You scared us! Basil! Sapphire! That especially goes for you! You already pulled this stunt! All of you will go without desert for a whole week! You’re grounded from the wingdingles forever. I don’t want to see any of you on those birds again!”

All of them cringed but Buddy.

Dory frowned. “That’s not safe.” He shook his head and sighed. He went towards the counter and grabbed a muffin. He munched on it and got a drink of water. When he finished his snack, he noticed that the kids were in the corner. “What did the kids do wrong?”

“We flew on the wingdingles.” Sapphire grumbled. He was not happy that he lost treat privileges.

Buddy was starting to shake. He was worried he would be in the corner forever. He had no concept of time and needed to go to the bathroom. He squirmed for several minutes, before bolting towards the bathroom. He got in there and sat down to go potty.

“That’s not fair! Buddy got out of the corner early…” Meadow protested. He didn’t understand why he got to get out of the corner.

“Buddy had to go potty.” Branch watched her boys. She was not amused.

Once Buddy was done, he slinked towards the corner and startled when he bumped into Dory. He screamed when Dory pulled him in for a hug.

“Aww, it’s OK little guy.” Dory held Buddy and ran his hand through Buddy’s baby pink hair.

Buddy began to cry and pressed into Dory. He didn’t want to be in trouble.

“I think Buddy learned his lesson. He’s free from the corner. The rest of you can think about what you have done.” Branch sat down in a chair and pulled out a book to read. She had no plans to let them out for at least half an hour. They had really scared her. She was going to convince them to stay safe, one way or another.


	27. Miracle Babies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold makes it to a viable gestation with his quintuplets.

Another month and two weeks had gone by. Gold was just shy of five months and a week along. It was a miracle that he had made it this far. He had been set up in the medical pod. He wanted to be there when he gave birth. He was very round. He had trouble sleeping at this point. He was so ready for them to all come out.

Emerald was constantly in and out of the medical pod. He wanted to make sure his dad and brothers were safe. He sometimes even slept in a bed next to Gold.

Dory rarely left Gold’s side either. He was worried about him. He had been asking a lot about when the babies would come. It was very clear that Gold would pop at any time. It was actually a huge surprise when Dory was the first one to start having contractions. Just like with his first pregnancy, he didn’t say anything at first, but this time he knew what was going on. He had little seven-and-a-half-month-old Topaz snuggled up to him. He finally let out a whimper, when he was two hours into labor.

Gold looked up when he heard Dory whimper. He looked over at Emerald. “Son? Please check Dory.” He had a feeling Dory was in pain. He grimaced, feeling his own contraction.

Emerald got up and walked over to Dory. He frowned, seeing blood. “Dory? I think you’re in labor. I’m going to touch.” He reached down and checked. He could feel that he was close to having the baby. He wiped his hands and moved Topaz into a cradle. He grabbed a blanket and smiled at his stepdad. “When you feel pressure, I want you to push Dory.”

“Pressure from what?” Dory groaned when he felt a contraction. “Oh! From that…” He remembered when he had Topaz. He reached over to Gold, whom was in a bed right next to him. He took his hand and squeezed it. “Labor hurts!!!” He cried out.

“I know daddy. You’re early. I hope he’s alright.” Gold looked worried. Dory wasn’t due for four more weeks. The baby was going to struggle a little bit.

Emerald saw his baby brother make his way out. He caught him and began cleaning him up. “Oh god, so little.” He walked over to a bed and cleared out his mouth. He patted his bottom and flicked the bottom of his foot, like his father had shown him to do. He smiled when he got a gurgling cry from the tiny blue glitter trolling. He had two toned gold and yellow hair. Another little flick on the foot got him crying better. He put a diaper on him, and carefully wrapped him up in a blanket. He walked over to Dory and gave him his baby. He helped him set up to nurse. He frowned when the little one didn’t nurse. He walked over to a little tube and fished it down the newborn’s nose. He got it into his stomach and put a little bit of milk into the tubing. He was so worried that he got it into his lungs. He just wanted his brother to have that first important milk. If he nursed next time, he wouldn’t have to tube feed him again. Once he got a tiny amount into the baby’s belly, he removed the tube and looked at his father for approval. That had been very scary.

Dory cradled his son and watched Emerald work on him. He looked worried. “He’s tiny.”

“Good job son. I’m very proud of you. That was perfect.” Gold had watched on and held his belly. “Hopefully you won’t have to do that with my five.” He let out a whimper. “I forgot how much contractions hurt.”

“You’re in labor too dad?” Emerald walked over and gently checked him. “You’re not very far into labor.” He went to wash his hands and got ready to deliver five babies. He was very worried. They were going to have six premature babies. “I want all these babies here until they’re breathing and eating well. At least a week to be safe.”

Dory watched Gold and frowned. “Why are you in so much pain Gold?”

“I’m in labor Dory.” Gold eased up and waddled towards the bathroom. He was going to pee while he had a chance.

Emerald began to pace. He heard his father peeing but didn’t like that he had got up.

Dory looked at his son and smiled. “You’re so tiny and cute.” He tried to get him to nurse. He noticed he didn’t appear to be hungry. He put him on his chest and snuggled with him instead.

Gold finished and made his way to the bed. He laid down and cringed. “Dory, what would you like to call your baby?”

“I want to name him Marble.” Dory ran his hand through the baby’s two-toned hair.

“I like Marble.” Gold smiled softly. He closed his eyes and whimpered.

About an hour later, Emerald got ready to catch the first of the quintuplets. He could see that his dad was close.

Gold cried out in pain as the first of his babies was born. He looked up and watched his son clean him. He was a mini version of Gold. He began to cry right away. Emerald gently sat him down in the cradle by Topaz and Marble. He watched for a second baby.

“He looks like you.” Dory was upright and holding Gold’s hand.

“He’s crying.” Gold had happy tears running down his cheeks. “I want to name him Amber.” He breathed hard and cringed as the second baby was born. This one was smaller. He was blue glitter like Dory, but with golden hair. 

Emerald struggled to get this one to cry. After quite a bit of stimulation he finally got him to let out cries. “There we go…”

“I want to name him Jasper.” Gold breathed hard and looked at Dory. “I love you…”

Dory smiled and kissed his mate. “I love you too.”

Emerald gently set the second baby down by his brother Marble. He barely made it over, when the third began making his way out. He got him and began cleaning him. He was a yellowish green glitter trolling with olive colored hair. He began to cry as his brother cleaned him.

“I want his name to be Olivine.” Gold breathed hard. He was exhausted. “I’m too old for this.” He groaned and gasped as a fourth came out not long after Olivine. He reached down and grabbed him. He held him and cleaned him since Emerald was still working on Olivine. “You’re Maori.” He wiped the green glitter trolling’s face. He had yellow hair with a black hair tip. He smiled softly when Emerald took him to clean him up.

Emerald got Maori into the cradle and walked over to his dad. “One more dad.”

Gold groaned and cried out as the last baby was born. This one was a gold glitter trolling with yellow hair. 

Emerald cleaned his baby brother and smiled when he began to cry. “They all survived.” Happy tears ran down his cheeks as he settled him on a bed. He began putting diapers on all of the quintuplets. “You did a great job dad.”

“His name is Beryl.” Gold breathed hard and closed his eyes. He was beyond exhausted. “I want my pod removed.” He half teased. “I’m glad they’re OK.”

“You did a good job Gold.” Dory had watched on with a huge grin on his face. His memory may have been bad, but now he had a huge family. He was very happy. He planned to cherish all seven babies for the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of part 3 of "A Single Flower." I have a part 4 planned. It's coming soon.


End file.
